Stories

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran – Around 100 representatives of UN organizations, Iranian national institutions and government agencies from the countries of Asia and the Pacific gathered on 5-6 November 2018 for an expert consultation meeting on regional cooperation to build disaster resilience. The meeting included workshops on information management and decision support systems for disaster risk reduction and opportunities for regional cooperation in managing cross-border disasters in Asia and the Pacific. The discussions highlighted shared vulnerabilities of the region to both slow onset and extreme events and presented global, regional and sub-regional initiatives for sharing disaster loss data, including multi-hazard risk information and alert platforms.  The participants agreed on the need to identify further opportunities for action, including cooperation mechanisms for building resilience to sand and dust storms and developing partnership networks for information management on cross-border disaster. Read more: Sand and dust storms Addressing sand and dust storms in SDG implementation

Konya and Mersin, Türkiye – The 16th International training on combating desertification took place on 22-27 October 2018, bringing together international experts from the country parties of the Pan African Agency for the Great Green Wall (PAGGW) and Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), as well as the representatives of various institutions across Türkiye.  The course, organized by the Republic of Türkiye General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion, covered technical aspects of combating desertification and land degradation, such as the production of seed and seedlings, forestation and erosion control. The need to increase the level of regional collaboration in sharing technical experience among countries has also been highlighted. The training session took the participants to the research institutions, private sector project sites, and model practice fields, where the institute officials provided detailed information on activities carried out in the region. These included water retention and irrigation methods, livestock farming, soil and water resource management, as well as income-generating projects in afforestation and production of medicinal and aromatic plants. The training is one of the actions under the Ankara Initiative, a bilateral agreement between Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and UNCCD, launched at the UNCCD COP12 to strengthen the implementation of UNCCD in 2016–2019. The Initiative supports the global sustainable development agenda and leverages lessons learned from Türkiye’s experience in sustainable land management. Read more: Sustainable land management Land and SDGs The Great Green Wall

Kyoto, Japan –  The new Land Degradation Neutrality Initiative (GEO LDN Initiative), launched during the Group on Earth Observations Week 2018, will bring together Earth observation data providers and governments to develop quality standards, analytical tools and capacity building needed to strengthen land degradation monitoring and reporting, using remote sensing and data collected on site. At the touch of a button, governments will have the necessary data to prioritize interventions and monitor outcomes to manage land better. The GEO LDN Initiative responds to a call made by the UNCCD’s Conference of the Parties (COP13) to bring data providers and data users together and support global efforts to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation globally.  Welcoming the Initiative, UNCCD Executive Secretary Ms. Monique Barbut said: “Land degradation is an existential crisis. Until now, monitoring it in real time felt like an insurmountable challenge. No longer. With Earth observation datasets and the practical tools to use them readily available, decision-makers and land users will have immediate and actionable information to scale up sustainable land management and planning. It is a first step to boosting our resilience.” Following the announcement, Germany pledged an initial contribution of EUR100,000 (USD113,000) for the GEO LDN Initiative. Read more: Full press release Achieving land degradation neutrality  

New York, USA – The delegates from the parliament of Iceland visited the UNCCD New York Liaison office on 24 October 2018 to discuss the work of the convention and the role of land restoration in achieving Iceland’s recent decision to go carbon neutral by 2040.   Speaking to the delegates, the Chief of UNCCD office in New York Mr. Melchiade Bukuru presented the major highlights in the evolution of the convention, including the adoption of the global target 15.3 on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) into the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Iceland, as the co-chair of the Group of Friends of UNCCD, has been instrumental in reaching this milestone. In his briefing, Mr. Bukuru also emphasized that UN General Assembly has recently recognized LDN as an accelerator for the achievement of other SDGs, such as eradication of poverty, gender empowerment, food security, elimination of hunger and improvement in health. The briefing also included an overview of the LDN Fund – the first public-private partnership established to support the achievement of LDN. The follow-up discussions included Iceland's experience in combating land degradation, the essential role that enabling legislation can play in achieving LDN, the multiple benefits of reversing land degradation for the conservation of biodiversity and the advancement of the Paris Agreement, success stories in land restoration from  Niger and China  and the linkages between land degradation and forced migration. The UNCCD and Iceland have a successful history of cooperation on the issues of desertification, land degradation and drought. Recently, the convention was invited to give a presentation on LDN as a framework for optimizing eco-restoration in the era of climate change at SERE Europe 2018 conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. Read more: Achieving land degradation neutrality Iceland launches new climate strategy In the photo (left to right): Mr. Melchiade Bukuru, Ms. Líneik Anna Sævarsdóttir, Mr. Logi Már Einarsson, Mr. Brynjar Níelsson, Ms. Bjarkey Gunnarsdóttir, Ms. Nandhini Iyer Krishna.

Kazbegi, Georgia – The regional conference “Integrated Erosion Control – from local experience to a vision for the South Caucasus,” organized by GIZ South Caucasus, Regional Environmental Center for South Caucasus and the UNCCD Secretariat, took place on 17-19 October 2018. Around 80 participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia gathered at the picturesque mountain settlement to explore the concept of land degradation neutrality (LDN) and ways in which integrated soil erosion control and prevention can help achieve LDN on the national and regional levels.  In her opening speech, the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ms. Nino Tandilashvili mentioned the increasing soil degradation in the country and emphasized the importance of the regional dialogue for solving common problems. The Director of GIZ IBIS Programme Mr. Hans-Joachim Lipp shared a concern that soil erosion is a “silent catastrophe” which should get more attention from the decision-makers and the public. He also referred to LDN response hierarchy and stressed that prevention is more cost-efficient than rehabilitation activities.  The participants also had the opportunity to learn about the work of UNCCD and its role as a SDGs Target 15.3 custodian agency. The LDN concept has been presented as s system of integrated land use planning and practical local solutions that provides a variety of sustainable land management (SLM) techniques for various intervention levels, such as avoidance or minimizing and reverting land degradation. The UNCCD National Focal Points from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia led the discussion on how LDN national baseline and targets have been formulated in their countries.  Georgia has presented its experience in LDN integration in the municipal land use planning. The guidelines on LDN integration in the spatial planning developed for the conditions of one municipality will be up-scaled for use in four more municipalities in various ecologic zones. The importance of the locally relevant indicators such as vegetation density and yield productivity has been demonstrated, and the experience shows that further consideration should be given to designing two levels of indicators –global and local. The experience of Georgia can provide an excellent example for the implementation of LDN in the countries in Central and Eastern Europe as well as globally.  Various knowledge platforms focusing on best practices in sustainable land management have been presented during the knowledge management session, among them the UNCCD Knowledge Hub and the WOCAT database for the SLM practices, as well as PANORAMA and K-Link.  At the the SLM marketplace, the participants have demonstrated successful techniques for soil erosion control, including afforestation on eroded land, pile walls, application of hay and grass mulch and manure and solar-powered electric fences that protect the sites from animals.  A handbook on Integrated Erosion Control in Armenia, prepared by the Government of Armenia, GIZ and Austrian Development Cooperation has also been presented at the conference. Best SLM practices on the UNCCD Knowledge Hub Achieving LDN UNCCD Annex V   

The new course that aims to provide better understanding of linkages between gender and environment is the result of a joint initiative led by the Global Environment Facility ( the GEF) and its Small Grants Programme (SGP) in collaboration with the GEF Gender Partnership and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Other international organizations that have made valuable contributions to the development of the course include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), UN Women, United Nations Development Programme, UN Environment, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UNCCD, as well as the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.   The new course offers the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively mainstream gender into sustainable development initiatives. It offers facts, figures and information on key linkages between gender and the environment, and educates the users on the global international frameworks related to gender and environment. Depending on their specific interests and needs, the users can choose between any of the following six modules: Introduction  Climate change International waters Biodiversity Land degradation Chemicals and waste By taking the course, the users will be able to expand knowledge in the following areas: Links between gender equality and environmental sustainability  Global environmental frameworks that include gender  Gender-responsive policies and projects that support environmental outcomes  Ways to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the areas covered  by the learning modules  The e-course is free, self-paced and is open to the general public. Upon completion, the course participants will receive a certificate.  More information: Link to the course UNCCD gender action plan Land and SDGs Land climate change