CRIC23 Media advisory – 3 December 2025

CRIC23 Highlights Gender Equality, Indigenous Leadership, and the Post-2030 Strategic Framework

Today’s CRIC23 discussions focus on gender equality, Indigenous women’s leadership, and the Interim Report of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Future Strategic Framework (IWG-FSF).

Key event 

10:00–13:00 | Field Visit to the Panama Canal (Miraflores Visitors Center)

Journalists are invited to a field visit organized by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) at the Miraflores Visitors Center. The visit will offer insights into how the ACP integrates sustainability and watershed protection into its long-term strategy to safeguard the Canal’s water resources.

The programme includes:

• Welcome and transfer to Salón Río Grande
• Presentation: Sustainable Development Strategy of the Panama Canal
  Raúl Martínez, Manager for Socio-Environmental Sustainability (ACP)
• Testimony: Experience of coffee producer Jim Mariscal with ACP-supported projects
• Q&A with ACP representatives and community partners
• Guided visit to key viewpoints and facilities of the Panama Canal

Transport departs at 10:00 from the Panama Convention Center.
Return to hotel expected at 13:00.

Other CRIC23 highlights — Gender Caucus sessions

Two sessions of the UNCCD Gender Caucus will take place on 3 December at the Panama Convention Centre. Journalists with CRIC23 accreditation may attend.

10:00–11:30 | Gender Caucus — Session 1
Leadership and worldviews of Indigenous women for sustainable land management
This session brings together Indigenous women leaders to discuss land governance, ancestral knowledge systems, and current land-related challenges.

11:30–13:00 | Gender Caucus — Session 2
Gender dimensions of sand and dust storms
This session explores how sand and dust storms affect men and women differently, adaptation strategies, and data gaps that inform future policy guidance.

Launch event

Strengthening the Capacities of Latin American and Caribbean Countries for Sustainable Land Management and Ecosystem Restoration within the Framework of the UNCCD

When: 3 December 2025
Time: 19:00 – 21:30
Where: Hotel Aloft Panama, Vía Israel y Calle 76, San Francisco, Panama City
Organized by: CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean -& UNCCD

This launch event presents a new CAF–UNCCD collaboration to strengthen the capacities of Latin American and Caribbean countries in sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration. As land degradation and drought intensify vulnerabilities across the region, the initiative supports countries in advancing effective land and water management while helping mobilize the financing needed to meet UNCCD objectives.