Stories

Santiago, Chile – The UNCCD coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Mr. Jose Miguel Torrico met with India's Ambassador in Chile Ms. Anita Nayar on 16 April to discuss the upcoming UNCCD COP14 that will take place in New Delhi from 2 to 13 September 2019. The meeting focused on the following proposed strategic topics that the conference will address::  Land, climate and renewable energy Rural and urban linkages in land management Faith and land stewardship Land and human health Sustainable value chains for land-based business The Ambassador Nayar offered to share key points of the discussion with other Indian delegations in LAC and the representatives of other countries in Chile to encourage their participation in COP14.  Read more: UNCCD COP14 UNCCD regional annexes

Songdo, Republic of Korea – UNCCD participated in the annual NAP Expo to explore the potential of pursuing climate change adaptation and land degradation by advancing national adaptation plans (NAPs). A panel discussion introducing LDN as well as project-level experiences from Peru, Kenya, Georgia and Argentina along with a donor perspective of Korea, was followed by interactive exercises that explored the challenges of pursuing climate change adaptation and LDN through the same project. One of the guiding principles of LDN is that planning and implementation should be incorporated into existing processes, promoting consideration of vulnerable ecosystems. As countries are still in the early stages of formulating their NAPs, there is plenty of opportunities to promote synergies between climate change adaptation and LDN. It is very likely that a climate change adaptation project with a focus on land or water will contribute to the achievement of LDN if it can help prevent negative land cover change, the loss of net primary productivity and the loss of soil organic carbon.  In practice, many climate change adaptation projects include interventions to limit or reverse land degradation, but they are not necessarily reported under LDN. The largest barrier identified by the participants seemed to be institutional and can be readily resolved: ensuring that all three Rio Conventions and their funding mechanisms actively promote integrated projects. Sponsors and national agencies need to actively encourage and reward integrated co-benefit approaches. The NAP Expo is an annual outreach event organized by the Least Developed Countries Expert Group of the UNFCCC in collaboration with various bodies and organizations to promote exchange of experiences and foster partnerships between a wide range of actors and stakeholders on how to advance National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). Read more: About the session Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality LDN target-setting programme

This year’s Future Policy Award (FPA), presented by the World Future Council (WFC), will honor laws and policies that promote youth empowerment as a key element to achieve the 2030 Agenda as well as address sustainable development and justice challenges. The WFC particularly welcomes nominations of innovative and impactful laws, policies and legal frameworks that create enabling environments and empower young people in the following fields: Economic empowerment of young women and men through decent and sustainable jobs Youth civic engagement and political participation to support sustainable development and peace Nominations for programmes that specifically target vulnerable groups such as young girls and women in rural areas are especially welcome. The FPA is a valuable opportunity to promote the visibility and impact of a nominated organization, as well as raise global awareness on exemplary laws and policies. Representatives of international organizations, academia, non-governmental organizations, parliaments, government agencies, and others have until 26 April to nominate outstanding policies. More info...   

The fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties is scheduled to take place from 2 to 13 September 2019 at the India Expo Center and Mart, in New Delhi, India.  Some of the new and relevant issues that are on the radar of the governments include the interaction between climate and land, optimizing the mix of food, energy and environment demands on land, the rural-urban link, the negative feedback of land degradation on poverty and human health, the tremendous opportunity sustainable value chains may provide, the role of the faith communities and the rapidly growing global movement on land restoration both of which are essential to achieving land degradation neutrality, which is a pivotal Agenda 2030 target. Read more...

Bonn, Germany – UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw met with Ms. Karyna Gomes, a popular Creole singer and composer from Guinea Bissau who headlines this year's Over the Border music diversity festival endorsed by the Convention. Ms. Gomes grew up listening to traditional rhythms, and her music has been influenced by her life on three continents – Africa, Latin America and Europe. In her songs she addresses such pressing social issues as forced migration. During the meeting on March 27, Mr. Thiaw described the work of the Convention in the area of migration caused by land degradation. He also presented the 3S Initiative that invests in land restoration and sustainable land management to create millions of jobs for vulnerable groups, in particular young people, returning migrants and displaced populations.  UNCCD has been the partner of the Over the Border Festival since its inception four years ago. This year's festival dates are 21 March to 7 April. You can also catch Karyna's performance on Cosmo Radio on 5 April. Read more: About Karyna Gomes Over the Border music festival Land and human security 3S Initiative

By Monica Chiriac and Maria Veger/IOM Niger Agadez, Niger – Since December 2018, migrants staying at UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) transit center have been undertaking training in sustainable agriculture. The target is to train close to 500 West African migrants as they wait for their travel documents. 

IOM provides direct assistance to migrants who wish to return to their countries of origin from Niger under the Migrant Resource and Response Mechanism, funded by the European Union. Migrants have access to accommodation, water, food, medical care, preparation of travel documents, psychosocial support, recreational activities and vocational trainings in business management and agriculture. The trainings are offered five days a week in groups of 25, and are divided into technical and practical sessions that take place on the plots of land allocated by the UNCCD.

 The project is the result of the partnership of IOM and UNCCD that provides opportunities for reintegration of migrants by creating  land restoration jobs. The trainings aim to contribute to environmental and climate change action as well as prevent radicalization in both transit and origin countries, minimizing forced migration caused by environmental factors – an objective aligned with the Global Compact for Migration. Learn more: See photos from the training Watch training video 3S Initiative: Sustainability. Stability. Security