News & stories

Stockholm, Sweden, 26 August 2016 – Given the multi-faceted nature and interconnectedness of drought, food security, conflict and migration, the UNCCD is co-hosting a panel event focusing on the need for integrated approaches and the institutional coherence in order to identify solutions, minimize cross-sectoral trade-offs and harness synergies. The panel event will take place at 11:00 am to 12:30 pm on 1 September 2016, at the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. Climate induced hazards such as droughts, heat waves, floods and typhoons have clear negative impacts on food security, conflicts and migration. The influx of migrants witnessed in countries such Israel and Jordan, with already highly stressed water resources, can elevate migration as a security issue.  Robert Mcleman, Wilfrid Laurier University, will deliver the keynote address titled, “Climate change, droughts, and migration: Adaptation or conflicts, which will we choose?" The panelists are Ousman Sowe, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Water and Wildlife, the Gambia, Rikke Olivera, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Martina Climesova, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and Daniel Tsegai, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Michael Brüntrup, German Development Institute (DIE) will moderate the event.  Drought and water scarcity are considered a contributing factor to the civil unrest and subsequent migration in Syria. Unfortunately, countries continue to manage drought and water scarcity as a ‘crisis’ and react only after the event has taken its tall with often poorly coordinated emergency relief measures. A silo approach is still the norm.  The event will highlight the interconnectedness of drought, food insecurity, conflict and migration. The role of empowering the vulnerable rural population, relevance of coherent and coordinated proactive policy approach will be discussed. For more information, contact: dtsegai@unccd.int For interview with UNCCD staff, contact: wwischnewski@unccd.int

Konya-Mersin, Türkiye, ​23 August 2016 – Each year Türkiye’s General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion organizes an International Training Course on Combating Desertification. This year, the training will take place from 23-27 August in Konya-Mersin for experts from Central Asia and the Balkans. The training is supported by Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). The training course covers technical issues such as causes of desertification/land degradation, seed and seedling production, forestation, erosion control and participatory approach with the aim of increasing the level of regional collaboration among the countries of the region and enabling each country in the region to share the technical experience. The training course is open for two representatives of the countries (see below for eligible countries). The course has been developed for decision makers, forest engineers and NGO’s involved in the management of environmental problems related to desertification, land degradation, afforestation, erosion control and forestry. The deadline for application is 15 July 2016. For more information and application, download the attached documents. Information noteEligible countriesApplication form For more information of the training course, contact: Mr. Sebahattin ACIKGOZ (sacikgoz@ormansu.gov.tr) or Ms. Eda AKDEMİR (eakdemir@ormansu.gov.tr) At the last UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP12), the Ankara Initiative was launched to strengthen implementations of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for the period from 2016 to 2019. The Initiative supports the global sustainable development agenda and leverage the lessons learned from Türkiye’s past experience and approaches to land management. The training course is part of the Ankara Initiative actions.

Windhoek, Namibia, 19 August, 2016 – African Drought Conference hosted by the government of Namibia ended with adaption of “The Windhoek Declaration for Enhancing Resilience to Drought in Africa” on 19 August. The declaration states the commitments to implement the Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa; to establish a continent-wide African Network with national institutions for Drought Monitoring and Early Warning Systems; and to convene biennial African Drought Conference to be held concurrently with the African Drylands Week to consider progress of the implementation of the Strategy adopted in Windhoek in August 2016, in order to promote investment among others. The conference was one of the distinct outcomes of the Namib Declaration adopted at the UNCCD COP 11/Decision 36 which emphasized a stronger UNCCD for land degradation neutrality with increasing focus on mitigating the impacts of droughts and the development of national drought policies.  The UNCCD was a co-organizer of the conference and provided technical and financial support. Read the Windhoek Declaration​ Read the op-ed by the UNCCD Executive Secretary (Inter Press Service)  The Op-ed in Spanish Other news coverage by Inter-Press Service: Arable Lands Lost at Unprecedented Rate: 33,000 Hectares… a Day! in  Portuguese, Kiswahili The conference opening​

Windhoek, Namibia, 15 August 2016 – Some 400 delegates from across Africa and beyond have come together in Windhoek, Namibia for the first African Drought Conference. International and African leaders and experts are set to find solutions to the recurring drought events and their associated impacts. The principal objective of the conference is for African countries to come up with an overarching strategic framework for Africa that will enhance drought resilience  and promote a paradigm shift from ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’ drought management.  The conference is organized by the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism supported by UNCCD in partnership with a number of international organizations and countries.  The conference which is taking place from August 15 – 19 is split between technical segment (15 – 17 August) and a high level segment (18-19 August). The African Drought Conference was launched under the chairmanship of Minister Pohamba and with the presence of Namibian deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of international cooperation, the minister of Agriculture, the AUC commissioner for rural economy and agriculture, the UN resident coordinator and other officials. Many African countries, IO, CSOs, etc. Mr. Daniel Tsegai is delivering a speech on behalf of UNCCD Secretariat.​

Windhoek, Namibia, 8 August 2016 – The Third Africa Drylands Week started today in Windhoek, Namibia. The opening ceremony was chaired by H.E. Mr. Pohamba Shifeta, Minister of Environment and Tourism of Namibia. Messages were delivered by the representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Bank, the Permanent Interstates Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and the UNCCD secretariat. Approximately 50 participates joined the opening ceremony from African countries, regional and sub regional organizations, international and civil society organizations. This year, the Drylands Week addresses the issues including land tenures, migrations, conflicts and Dryland land valuations. FinalDraft Agenda 3rd Africa Drylands Week (EN)Programme Provisoire 3ème Semaine Africaine des Zones Arides (FR) The Drylands Week is held back to back with the AfricanDrought Conference​ organized by the Government of Namibia from 15-19 August in Windhoek.​

On the occasion of the Committee on Forestry and the World Forest Week organized at FAO headquarters from 18 to 22 July 2016, FAO and the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD joined forces to organize a side-event: “Sustainable Financing for Forest & Landscape Restoration and Land Degradation Neutrality. What innovations are needed for effective financing mechanisms and increased private sector investments?” The side-event was an opportunity to remind how Forest & Landscape Restoration (FLR) and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) implementation can deliver significant contributions to climate change adaptation and mitigation and are important milestones on the road towards an inclusive green economy through their potential to create decent jobs and increased incomes for local populations. More importantly the side-event aimed, as a priority, at: Promoting relevant approaches to mobilize private sector finance to implement FLR and LDN; Fostering dialogue between stakeholders involved in FLR & LDN financing in order to share lessons learned and good practices of effective financing mechanisms; Identifying gaps and challenges to be addressed in the future and discussing the relevance of increased collaborative approaches to seize synergies between financing opportunities. The event enabled over 50 participants to learn about some of the ongoing innovations and to discuss gaps and challenges for increased private sector investments. As Mr. Abderrahim Houmy, Secretary General of the High Commission on Water, Forests and Combating Desertification of Morocco explained, “Corporate Social Responsibility has proven to be a significant driver in Morocco where the Partnership for Moroccan Forests operates as a catalytic platform to facilitate partnerships between the forest administration and responsible companies”. Moreover, international cooperation agencies are able to provide significant advisory services to partner countries in building their enabling environment for increased financing, for example through the development of projects eligible for climate finance. Mr. Mark Davis, Deputy-Director for the FAO Climate and Environment Division, indicated the number of opportunities offered by the Green Climate Fund, especially as a way to leverage private sector investments. Participants underscored how other innovative funding mechanisms should be explored: for example crowd funding initiatives which enable a large mobilization of the general public towards FLR and LDN projects. “Crowd funding is a way to bring small amounts of funds to small projects, which most financing partners are not able to provide, while this can achieve a significant development impact on the field”, stressed Ms. Pilar Valbuena, International forestry expert. In order to seize the full potential of forests and mobilize resources at scale, the contributions of forests to biodiversity, combating desertification and climate change mitigation and adaptation must be unleashed. Mr. Ulrich Apel, Senior Environmental Specialist at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) acknowledged that “It is critical to find synergies between Rio conventions when addressing financing mechanisms for FLR and LDN”. Importantly, opportunities emerging from the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDNF) project were discussed as well as partnerships need to address the new LDN market. Indeed the LDNF project offers possibilities of blended finance and a mix of investments and technical assistance which are required when implementing large scale FLR projects.  Ludwig Liagre, Innovative LDN Finance expert, underscored that the LDNF project will apply strict environmental and social safeguards to ensure the sustainability of investments. Mr. Douglas McGuire, Coordinator of the FAO FLR Mechanism and chair of the event, in his concluding statement said, “We are on the way to finding synergies between financing sources and to build relevant financing alliances. Nonetheless more efforts should be developed to design sustainable incentives to private sector investors and project developers to engage in FLR and LDN on the long-term”.