Stories

On 17 June, the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund Project was presented in Beijing on the occasion of the official celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification. The event was organized by the government of the People’s Republic of China, hosted by the State Forestry Administration (SFA). Mr. Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China chaired the opening of the ceremony at the People’s Congress Hall. Ms. Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) emphasized the importance of China in spearheading work to achieve land degradation neutrality and ensuring that it becomes humanity’s defining achievement of the 21st Century. The keynote addresses and dialogue sessions were held by high-level speakers and attended by nine Ministers and Vice Ministers from seven countries, along with 400 participants. The event also included an afternoon session which addressed thematic dialogues such as the launch of the Joint Action Initiative, the report titled “Unlocking the Sustainable Potential of Land Resources: Evaluation Systems, Strategies and Tools”, which was produced by the International Resource Panel of UNEP, and an award ceremony. This year’s event theme emphasized the importance of coordination and cooperation to restore and rehabilitate land, while significantly contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Land Degradation Neutrality became a global headline in 2015. The same year, the achievement of LDN by year 2030 was officially set under target 15.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The LDN Fund project was presented by Mr. Simone Quatrini, Coordinator and Team Leader of the UNCCD Global Mechanism, as an introduction to Thematic Dialogue 2, entitled “Role of Innovative Investment for Technical Cooperation”. The session was moderated by Mr. Wu Zhimin, Director General of International Forestry Cooperation Center, State Forestry Administration (SFA). The session panelists included Mr. Byong Hyon Kwon, UNCCD Drylands Ambassador and Founder of Korea Future Forest, Mr.Chen Peng, Deputy Director General, China Green Foundation (CGF), Mr. Frank Radstake, Principle Environment Specialist, Asian Development Bank, Mr. Xi Shusen, Director, Inner Mongolia Society of Ecology and Entrepreneurs, Mr. Romano De Vivo, Head Environmental Policy Representative, Syngenta, and Mr. Zhao Yong, Executive Secretary of Kubuqi Desert Forum, Elion Group. Mr. Quatrini presented the emerging features of the LDN Fund, including the investment strategy and investment opportunities identified to date. This stimulated a rich debate on the potential of blended finance to scale up successful business cases in land restoration and sustainable land management in China and the whole Asian region. A number of promising initiatives that contribute to LDN and could potentially attract foreign investments were showcased in the ensuing session, entitled “Unlocking the Sustainable Potential of Land Resources: Evaluation Systems, Strategies and Tools”.   For more information:  Nevena Bakalar Rakocija The Global Mechanism Tel. +49 228 815 2841 nrakocija (at) unccd.int

The Global Mechanism is seeking ways to identify, explore and promote sources of funding that are most relevant and innovative for the rehabilitation of land through the Great Green Wall, and contribute significantly to the restoration of 12 million hectares of land globally that are degraded each year. The opening of ‘BASE’ the Support Office for Senegalese citizens Abroad, in Milan, Italy, on 30 May  2016, is a potential contribution towards investments in sustainable land management. The establishment of the office is an important step for the Senegalese government in supporting its citizens living in Italy. It is also a good example of  international cooperation between Italy and Senegal, involving all the following stakeholders: the diaspora associations, international organizations, local authorities, civil society and the private sector. The objectives of 'BASE' are: Inform Senegalese citizens in Italy on the investment opportunities in their countries of origin, with a particular focus on sustainable agriculture and land rehabilitation; Assess the economic integration problems of the Diaspora and point them to the relevant structures to facilitate the administrative procedures for the creation of enterprises in Senegal The opening of ‘BASE’ is supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), through the Italian Cooperation project: "Promoting sustainable land management in areas prone to migration through innovative financing mechanisms ", as well by the municipal council of Milan and the Government of Senegal. On 29 May, the day before the inauguration of 'BASE', the Diaspora met all government structures that support initiatives for Senegalese citizens abroad to discuss current opportunities. This platform has provided important information to Senegalese citizens abroad, indicating the most productive investments and presenting the services available to them (financial or otherwise) to implement their investment projects. It is estimated that there are  between two and three million Senegalese citizens living abroad worldwide, nearly a quarter of the population of Senegal. Because of their number and involvement in the development of the country, they have an important economic and social role to play in the stability of Senegal. The diaspora is particularly important in Italy, where 26.2% of the Senegalese diaspora lives, according to a survey "Migration and Remittances to Senegal by the World Bank" conducted by the Consortium for the Economic and Social Research of Senegal in 2009. According to the same source, Senegalese households received nearly 588.4 billion FCFA in 2011, making remittances one of the most promising innovative sources of finance, with a potentially crucial role in promoting sustainable land management and land rehabilitation.   Read more about the Great Green Wall

The Great Green Wall is a long-held African dream, currently taking root on the edge of the world’s largest hot desert: the Sahara. Dubbed the "next wonder of the world", the ongoing project will eventually see the growth of an 8,000km ‘green wall’ made from trees and plants across the entire African continent, from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East. The aim? To transform the lives of some of the planet’s poorest people. Refinery29 - the youth-oriented lifestyle website -  has created a powerful photo series, which shows how this modern wonder of the world is taking shape across the African Continent.

“I am pleased to see that shortly after political decisions taken at the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties, the UNCCD Secretariat and the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD together with various key partners such as GEF, IUCN, UNDP and the governments of Korea, Türkiye, Luxemburg, and Trinidad and Tobago have initiated a support programme for countries to set national LDN targets” declared Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, addressing the Regional inception workshop of the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme (LDN-TSP) in Batumi, Georgia, on 6-7 June 2016. This is the second regional event organized, following the regional inception workshop for African Countries in the framework of a global initiative of the UNCCD Secretariat and Global Mechanism to support a growing number of countries that have committed to set national Land Degradation Neutrality targets – as of now  95 countries. The workshop was attended by representatives of nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Country representatives, representatives of IUCN, UNEP, UNDP, Regional Environmental Center for Southern Caucasus (REC Caucasus), GIZ and the LDN TSP project team discussed the approach and steps towards setting voluntary targets aiming at achieving LDN by 2030 – a concept which is embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  “We expect that through this Programme the countries will increase capacity in assessing the scope of land degradation, setting LDN targets and analyzing the cost and co-benefits of LDN. Ultimately, this will guide our governments in achieving the SDGs” Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia added. Participants acknowledged that the LDN-TSP was a very useful platform for raising national capacity and increasing investments in order to avoid, minimize and revert all forms of land degradation. The LDN approach is expected to offer participating countries opportunities to mainstream sustainable land management issues on a new and higher political level, both nationally and globally. The workshop was organized back to back with the Eighth Ministerial Conference Environment for Europe, held from 8 to 10 June in Batumi. On 8 June, Land Degradation Neutrality and its contribution to sustainable growth were discussed in a side event organized by the UNCCD secretariat, REC Caucasus, the German Cooperation, the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, and GIZ. This event highlighted the high economic potential of sustainable land management and LDN approaches in contributing to green growth, showcasing experiences from Georgia, Belarus and Central Asia.   Related links: Workshop Report (685.89 KB)

Representatives of more than 30 African countries met in Konya, Türkiye, from 28-30 May to discuss the game plan to launch the land degradation neutrality (LDN) target setting process in Africa. Facilitated by the Global Mechanism and the Secretariat of the UNCCD, hosted by the Turkish Government as President of the Bureau of the UNCCD Conference of Parties, and supported by a multitude of bilateral and multilateral partners, the workshop enabled African countries to understand the key building blocks to defining national voluntary LDN targets and identifying transformative LDN projects and programmes. “LDN is becoming a vehicle to bring together development agendas – from food security to climate action - that so far, have been separate”, said Mr Markus Repnik, Managing Director of the Global Mechanism, in his opening speech. Reminding participants that “climate finance is rapidly becoming a major source of finance for LDN”, Mr Repnik underlined his expectation that the LDN target setting process will support countries to tap into such innovative sources of finance, taking into account the climate finance objective of USD 100 billion per year by 2020. The UNCCD's GM's LDN Target Setting Programme supports countries to define LDN baselines, targets and associated measures to achieve LDN by 2030 as called upon by the Sustainable Development Goals. It furthermore helps countries to create leverage at country level by making the country specific LDN business case, implanting LDN in selected high profile national policies and commitments, ensuring stakeholder engagement at the highest possible level as well as identifying opportunities for the development of transformative LDN projects and programmes. The workshop is part of a global initiative of the UNCCD Secretariat and Global Mechanism supporting more than 90 countries in achieving LDN. The next regional workshop on LDN target setting will take place from 5 to 6 June 2016 in Batumi, Georgia, for the Central and eastern European and Central Asian countries. More than 60 participants met in Konya, Türkiye to discuss a game plan to launch the LDN target setting process in Africa.   Related Links: Workshop Report (EN) (736.59 KB) Workshop Report (FR) (1.01 MB)

Ministers from African countries North and South of the Sahara and their development partners have agreed to accelerate progress on the Great Green Wall, Africa’s largest rural development initiative, during a High-Level conference in Dakar, Senegal. The Conference, which was organized by the African Union together with key partners including the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD from 3-7 May 2016, follows on from the recent Global Climate Summit (COP21) in Paris, where world leaders and key development partners pledged an additional USD 4 billion to the Great Green Wall over the next 5 years.   The renewed commitments offer fresh hope that the bold ambition of the Great Green Wall – to transform the lives of the Continent’s poorest people by restoring the productivity of its degraded landscapes – can now become a reality. “A decade after the initiative started – originally amidst a lot of scepticism – today the Great Green Wall stands as one of the most innovative and daring endeavours in human history – a real ‘world wonder’.” said Janet Edeme, on behalf of Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission. With 46% of African land currently affected by land degradation, jeopardizing the livelihoods of nearly 65% of the Continent’s population – the planned action along the Great Green Wall is certainly timely. In 2015, more than 20 million people in the Sahel were food insecure. Most of the poor and hungry live in rural areas and a major part of their income comes from agriculture. Moreover, the excess unskilled labour arriving from rural areas can no longer easily be absorbed in cities already at bursting point. To address the lack of opportunities, economic migrants with the resources to do so are undertaking long journeys, frequently under desperate conditions. Many risk their lives in search of a better life on the European continent. Millions more are expected to follow imminently, as climate change amplifies the threat posed by an already declining natural resource base. “Every day on news stations around the world, we see the impact that land degradation is having in the Sahel”, highlighted Camilla Nordheim-Larsen of the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. “Flash floods in Niger, the Boko Haram massacres in the Lake Chad region, food crises in the Horn of Africa, and terrorist attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso. At their root, all of these can be traced back to a cycle of poverty and lack of opportunity that is fuelled by the declining productivity of natural resources.’’ Amidst these urgent challenges, the Great Green Wall promises to be a compelling part of the solution; by providing people with improved economic prospects, a cushion against climate change, a reason to stay for unemployed youth set to migrate from the region, whilst helping to restore political stability. Indeed, since the Initiative’s launch in 2007 by African Heads of State, significant progress has already been recorded. For example in Senegal, more than 11 million trees have been planted, in Nigeria 20,000 jobs have been created in rural areas and in Ethiopia 15 million hectares of degraded land have been restored. “We all understand that the Great Green Wall Initiative is more than just a green belt: it is a strategy for maximizing the opportunities of the Sahara and Sahel region, through real involvement of communities and local governments”, affirmed Abdoulaye Balde, Senegal Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development. “Our survival now depends on our efforts and convictions.” The Conference culminated in the ‘Dakar Declaration’, which Ministers and key development partners agreed would act as a roadmap for defining the way forward to help the Great Green Wall realize its full potential as a lifeline for the Continent’s poorest people, not just to survive but to thrive once more on their ancestral lands.   Related links: Great Green Wall Brochure (1.21 MB)