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Vanessa Nakate is  a UNCCD Land Hero from Uganda and a climate justice activist who founded the Youth for Future Africa, the Africa-based Rise Up Movement and One Million Activists Stories.

The meeting on “Advancing the design of a LDN Transformative Project/Programme in Caribbean SIDS for climate change mitigation and adaptation” took place online on 20-21 May 2021 to coordinate regional collaboration on the development of the new programme and seek synergies with national climate change mitigation and adaptation agendas. The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management in the Caribbean (PISLM), the UNCCD Global Mechanism (GM) and the UNFCCC brought together 24 participants, including National Focal Points (NFPs) of both Conventions and a representative of the GCF secretariat. Following the outcomes of this inception workshop, the next step  in the process will be collecting input on suggested country-specific activities and other additional guidance to share with PISLM, once UNCCD, UNFCCC and GCF NFPs have consulted with relevant stakeholders. All the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS) are parties to the UNCCD and UNFCCC, participating actively in the Conferences of the Parties and the activities of both conventions . Under UNCCD, CSIDS are actively engaged in the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Programme of the GM. Welcoming the attendees, the Executive Director of PISLM, Mr. Calvin James remarked on the continued collaboration of the GM with the PISLM, noting that the inception workshop ia a critical stepping stone to support CSIDS in shaping a land-based transformative programme that can boost climate resiliency and address land degradation issues in the region. Ms. Louise Baker, the Managing Director of the GM, highlighted that the CSIDS have always understood the real importance of safeguarding land capital, since for small island states every hectare of healthy land is a precious resource. Ms. Baker also recognized the progress the region has made in setting voluntary LDN targets, with 11 of the 15 participating countries already completing the process. Additionally, during the first day of this workshop, representatives of the GCF secretariat, the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) at St .George’s and the GM of the UNCCD provided an overview of GCF financial modalities and ongoing support provided for relevant initiatives in the region, including guidance to formulate multi-country funding proposals Current climate change mitigation and adaptation priorities set by CSIDS in their  Nationally Determined Contributions and National Action Plans, highlighting the relevance of the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector and land-based interventions The status of the LDN target setting process in CSIDS and related implementation efforts that require support. The country delegates shared information on the national priorities for climate change mitigation and adaptation, LDN targets and GCF financing. On the second day of the workshop delegates discussed proposed themes and project components to define the scope of both regional and country-specific elements of the proposal and agreed to develop the concept as an umbrella programme proposal to be submitted to the GCF through its simplified approval process. They have also discussed which accredited entity would be best positioned to effectively support countries in the development of this initiative.  

50 years ago people mobilized the world to demand a new social contract with nature. Earth Day was born. Today, our social contract is put in jeopardy. The current COVID-19 crisis is showing how much we depend on each other as well as on other species and nature for our health, food systems and livelihoods. We obtain more than 99.7% of our food from land. For many people and communities in the world, land is the source of livelihoods and the only safety net in the time of crisis. We need to protect nature and continually promote healthy landscapes. And we also need to build back stronger, and smarter, in ways that are healthy, safe, green, just and more resilient. Let us use our strength to fight COVID-19. Let us recommit to what Earth Day is all about. Let us rise again for a new social contract with nature! Happy Earth Day everyone. Read the keynote statement of Ibrahim Thiaw on agricultural and climate change at the Earth Day's 50th anniversary online event.

Some international agreements emerge quickly. But the birth of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was a long tortuous journey. In particular, it was undermined by the perception that it was a development Convention. Yet the evolution of its sister Rio Conventions on Climate Change and on Biological Diversity shows that a purist approach to environmental conservation is at best misguided, and at worst dangerous.

Iceland will reach carbon neutrality before the year 2040. This is the ambitious goal that my government set in September 2018 when it introduced a new climate action plan to get us there. We are taking actions that tackle the three major global environmental challenges – on biological diversity, climate change and desertification – simultaneously.

The Capacity Building Marketplace (CBM) presented the UNCCD Secretariat's exposition at the recently concluded Subsidiary Bodies Session 48 (SB48) of the United Nations Climate Change (UNCC) held at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany, from 30th of April to the 4th of May. The CBM team shared with visitors to our stand information on the importance of achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) as part of efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change worldwide; and on the great opportunities and possibilities offered on the CBM, specifically concerning addressing climate change. The team consisted of Dimitrios Karatassios (Greece), Philip Kendekka Sinyan (The Gambia), Raluca Ionita (Romania) and Daniel Gonzalez Carmena (Spain). The exposition depicted inter alia: The link between the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 15.3 (Land Degradation Neutrality) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations; The undeniable connection between land-related issues which the UNCCD tries to tackle and matters of climate change; The platform of the Marketplace and its main on-going exercises, showing that it is a tool that can be used by anybody interested in matters of land and sustainable land management. Visitors were able to obtain various publications, both physically and digitally. The team made sure the stand was very interactive through inter alia assisting visitors with navigating the official UNCCD website and showing several videos about concrete initiatives and actions taken by the Convention. Many attendees of the Conference expressed their interest in the topics and promotional materials, and their disposition to collaborate with the Convention as a whole and more specifically the CBM through the establishment of partnerships for action.