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Mr. Chairman, Distinguished vice-chairs, Dear colleagues and friends, As we gather here today, the world is in crisis. Over the past weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into a complex emergency, with significant human, health and socio- economic dimensions, at global level. The gravity and scale of the situation calls for an unprecedented level of international action and solidarity. Governments, organizations, communities, and people are stepping up in extraordinary ways. If we don't take care of the pandemic now, we are going to see fallout and secondary effects from this that will have ramifications for a long time, above and beyond the lives that will have been lost. Helping address the COVID-19 crisis is also a priority of our Convention. We all have a role to play. Like all organizations, our Convention faces a fundamental test of our collective strength and will. The role of the CRIC is perhaps today more than ever critical in steering us in the right direction and keeping us moving towards the global common good. Mr. Chairman, I would like to express my deep appreciation for the long-standing support that the CRIC has offered to this Convention. First, allow me to underscore the excellent work you have accomplished at COP 14. Your deliberations and take-aways have guided the work of UNCCD over the past months. It has helped us produce better results for the people we serve. There is now a clear understanding that land restoration is the most cost-effective solution to address the global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. This was outlined at the Climate Action Summit and at the UNFCCC COP 25. We have continued to boost ambition and accelerate actions for the sustainable use of our land resources, to deliver a land degradation neutral world. We have also been able to make a business case for land restoration through sustainable value chains, calling both on Parties and the private sector to invest and to scale up the impact of individual and collective action. We have invested in the blossoming of a global movement of land restoration, anchored in nature-based solutions. All this, with a renewed commitment to placing people, especially young people and women, at the centre of our efforts. Mr. Chairman, This brings us to my second point, your work schedule. Building on our remarkable achievements, the Secretariat will brief you on the work programme of the CRIC for this biennium. This is a significant reporting round. First, we will take stock of the baselines reported on during the 2017- 2018 reporting process. Second, and for the first time, we will talk about trends and see whether, with the assistance of our monitoring framework, we are going in the right direction. Third, we will introduce a technical review of national reports that were submitted during the last reporting process. Our objective is to support country reporting system and enable our Parties to report credible and robust data. Lastly, you will be briefed on the upcoming intersessional meeting of the CRIC, CRIC 19 with a view to inform COP 15 on a way that better reflects the implementation needs of your process. Mr. Chairman, During this exceptional time, we remain committed to continue delivering our mandate. Rest assured of my and the entire Secretariat’s commitment to continue to provide high quality support to you and to all our Parties. In these trying times, I would also like to thank you for taking on the additional responsibility to work with us to implement the Convention. This is a testimony of your commitment and leadership. Mr. Chairman, This brings me to my third and last point. COVID-19 is the most urgent threat facing humanity today. We remain convinced that land restoration and sustainable land management are among the best long term responses to the socio-economic crisis facing humanity. The science is clear. Land is the basis for human health, livelihoods, food security, and for our social, economic, cultural and spiritual well-being. The COVID–19 crisis reminds us how much we depend on each other. It also reminds us how much we depend on nature for our health, our food systems and our livelihoods. A healthy and well-functioning land plays a pivotal role in supporting people. For many, this the only safety net there is. In the current context, the pursuit of public health, at all levels from local to global, depends on careful attention to the processes of land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss. I am confident that soon, the world will restart. This is a chance for our Parties to recover better and come out stronger. Building on our motto – healthy land; healthy people – we must bring the world’s attention to the potential of land to address today’s crises by creating jobs, protecting vulnerable communities and steering the economic recovery towards a more sustainable and inclusive path. Mr. Chairman, We stand at a difficult moment – facing an unprecedented crisis – but it is also an exceptional moment. As leaders are listening and the whole world is watching, we need to continue advocating environmental action to drive transformative change for people; to call for a new social contract with nature. One that allow us to rebuild in ways that are healthy, safe, green, just and more resilient to deliver a land degraded neutral world, the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Returning to “business as usual” is no longer an option. Your role as CRIC Bureau members is critical in that regard. The dialogue you will start today, must expand, flourish, be enriched by your constituencies, and set the stage for a UNCCD COP 15 that meets the new challenges of the 21st century. I wish you productive discussions over the course of your two-day meeting. My team and I remain at your service. We look forward to receiving your inputs and guidance. Let us pledge to maintain our commitment and our solidarity for the people and for the planet. Thank you. Download the speech.  

La majorité des nouvelles maladies infectieuses humaines sont transmises par des animaux dont nous détruisons l’environnement, explique Ibrahim Thiaw, le secrétaire exécutif de la Convention des Nations unies sur la lutte contre la désertification. 

The establishment of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on Drought is welcome news. This new inter-governmental process has immense value addition to the immediate positive outcomes of saving lives, livestock, rangelands and livelihoods in case of drought. It will improve major drought driven insecurity in some of the world’s most fragile areas by strengthening policy actions and improving coordination during implementation.

French and Spanish translations of the Land Degradation Neutrality Transformative Projects and Programmes: Operational guidance for country support, and French translation of the Manual for gender-responsive Land Degradation Neutrality transformative projects and programmes  are now available.

The international community is developing policy measures and actions to help the people most vulnerable to drought to take early action to avoid loss of life, and the heavy and growing losses of livelihoods and damage to property and ecosystems following droughts.   The Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought (IWG) that is leading this initiative is convening for the first time on 26 March through virtual meetings involving four task teams. The outcomes of the initiative could become effective as early as 2022.  Read more: Full press release About IWG Land and drought

Language versions: Arabic | Chinese | French | Russian | Spanish The international community is developing policy measures and actions to help the people most vulnerable to drought to take early action to avoid loss of life, and the heavy and growing losses of livelihoods and damage to property and ecosystems following droughts.   The Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought (IWG) that is leading this initiative is convening for the first time on 26 March through virtual meetings involving four task teams. The outcomes of the initiative could become effective as early as 2022.  The importance of early warning followed by early action for the most vulnerable people and ecosystems as well as the need for preparedness to respond fast, cannot be over-emphasized.   The IWG’s virtual meeting is taking place after the Group’s first face-to-face meeting, scheduled for 25-27 March in Brussels, Belgium, was suspended following the outbreak and global spread the corona virus, COVID-19.  “Over 70 countries worldwide are affected by drought, and the droughts are spreading to new areas, recurring more often and lasting longer, sometimes stretching over a few years or even decades in some regions. The impacts of these new drought patterns on people, property, infrastructure and ecosystems are unprecedented and are a growing concern for both developed and developing countries,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which is facilitating the work of the IWG.  “Half of the global land is projected to be drylands and may be more prone to drought by 2050. The increase in drought disasters is a wake-up call to this threat, especially because some avoidable impacts occur due to late action, and at worst, inaction. The possibility created by the IWG to share experiences and learn from the best examples of mitigating drought is a big step forward,” he adds.   Millions of people are dealing with the prospect of drought at the moment.  In just a few months (April), in a situation reminiscent of the 2015 to 2017 drought, a record 45 million people in Southern Africa may be food insecure, partly due to drought. The World Food Programme needed 489 million United States dollars by February 2020 to help the 8.3 million people that were already food insecure in the region, but had yet to raise half of the required sum.  Droughts destroy food that could feed 81 million people – a population the size of Germany – every day, for a year, according to a recent World Bank report. Drought is also one of the most cited reasons by young people leaving their homes in search of better lives elsewhere, including those migrating to Europe, according to a recent survey of migration patterns in Morocco.  “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this new inter-governmental initiative. Its value goes beyond the immediate outcomes of saving lives, livestock, rangelands and livelihoods in case of drought. It will improve security in some of the world’s most fragile areas,” Jarso Ibrahim Gollole, a pastoralist and natural resource advisor with Mercycorps in Kenya says about the results expected from the IWG.  “The conflicts that arise among communities living across borders – but also within borders – as they compete, in times of drought, over few and shrinking pastures would be minimized. Also, the influx of communities from neighboring countries seeking to take advantage of the government services set aside for affected communities in Kenya, where drought responses are better, even if they are not perfect, would decrease. A collective approach to managing drought is far better than what we have today,” he added.  Drought and drought impacts are also addressed under the Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction processes of the United Nations. But the policy focus on drought is only one among many other disasters, that are more noticeable and get stronger policy actions, especially due to the dramatic nature of their arrival.   Droughts, by contrast, set in slowly and wreak havoc on some of the world’s poorest populations. By focusing only on drought, the IWG is expected to develop concrete, feasible and appropriate global options to address its socio-economic impacts effectively.   “Another world is possible. Drought resilience for countries at varying levels of economic development is possible. Witness the resilience of Ethiopia’s Tigray region to the 2014-2016 drought, the famous water harvesting scheme in Brazil’s north-east region, the Australian drought trust fund that helps farmers and the drought management approach of United States where a Presidential decree is issued early. How drought is managed must change fundamentally,” Thiaw said.   “Drought knows no boundaries, political or sectoral. It is a connector. The work of the IWG can bring much-needed coordination among stakeholders at all levels and rally affected countries to act and work together,” says Daniel Tsegai, the UNCCD’s drought expert in charge of the IWG process.  “Interest in the work of the IWG is already high. Governments, international and non-governmental organizations and other actors have sent close to 100 submissions for consideration. The submissions deal with issues such as collaboration among institutions, the barriers and challenges to drought response and recovery, the opportunities and measures for action as well as the lessons learned from successful cases,” he said.  The IWG was established in September 2019 following intense negotiations by governments during the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.   Its outcomes, which include recommendations for action, will be presented to policy makers at the 15th COP session in Fall 2021.  Notes to Editors  See the FAQ for background information about the Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought. For more information about the IWG meetings and processes, contact Daniel Tsegai, dtsegai@unccd.int or visit https://www.unccd.int/news-events/call-experts-intergovernmental-working-group-drought  Fact Sheet The list of potential interviewees: Mr. Daniel Tsegai Programme Officer UNCCD secretariat E-mail: dtsegai@unccd.int Dr. Caroline King-Okumu International Development Opportunities Manager Centre for Ecology and Hydrology E-mail: carkin@ceh.ac.uk Mr. Jarso Ibrahim Gollole Natural Resource Advisor and Pastoralist MercyCorps, Kenya E-mail: jgollole@mercycorps.com For media-related questions contact: wwischnewski@unccd.int