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A decade ago at the UNCCD COP10 in Changwon, two key ideas in the UNCCD process were rolled out: the “Changwon Initiative” and the global target of “zero net land degradation.” The initiative has been instrumental in materializing this new vision of a land-degradation neutral world and played a pivotal role in developing the Land Degradation Neutrality concept, supporting advocacy within the international community and ensuring its reflection in Sustainable Development Goals through SDG 15.3. The Changwon Initiative also supported national voluntary target setting processes to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), leading to more than 100 countries’ participation. It has also contributed to the preparation of action-oriented projects and programmes to facilitate the implementation of LDN on the ground. Land-based solutions are among the most efficient and effective ways to safeguard nature and human beings: land restoration can be an important solution for mitigation and adaptation to climate change and biodiversity loss. Furthermore, it can contribute to job creation and food security. A land degradation-neutral world by 2030, which is the vision of the Changwon Initiative, can be an important stepping stone toward restoring balance with nature and realize the Sustainable Development Goals. As we celebrate the achievements of the Changwon Initiative over the past 10 years, there is a great expectation that the Initiative will continue to act as an accelerator in addressing land degradation neutrality and making a positive impact for a better future for people and the planet. Read more: The Changwon Initiative LDN target-setting programme Land and the SDGs

12 September is the UN Day for South-South cooperation. Collaboration among peoples and countries of the global South that contributes to their national well-being, their national and collective self-reliance and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals is a key aspect of UNCCD-enabled projects such as the Ningxia International Knowledge Management Center for Combating Desertification in China. The center is the result of cooperation between UNCCD and China under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with Ningxia Forestry Grassland Administration as one of the projects to implement the Ordos Declaration adopted at UNCCD COP13. Under the MoU, the center commits to offer from 2019 to 2023 training including in-person lectures, field exercises, study trips and online webinars to developing countries on policies and technologies related to land degradation, rehabilitation and mitigation of drought effects. In December 2019, the center co-organized together the UNCCD the first international seminar in Ningxia Yinchuan, China. 15 participants from Africa and Asia participated in lectures, community interviews, business visits and university workshops. Due to COVDI-19, since 2021 the center has been developing a series of online training courses to include virtual seminars and field trips that showcase policy measures, technologies and business models of dryland ecosystem restoration, water saving afforestation and ecological resources-based green economy development under south-south cooperation program of China to support capacity development for countries affected by desertification. Photo above: Visit to straw grid sand fixation site.  

The UNCCD CSO Panel has released the latest issue of its newsletter. This issue introduces the recent news from the CSO network from May to August 2021, summary report of the CSOs meeting with the LDN Fund and TAF, report on the 2021 World Desertification and Drought Day, GGW Accelerator and upcoming events. Read more...

The Government of Côte d'Ivoire confirmed its intent to host the UNCCD COP 15 in May 2022

Renowned explorer and environmentalist Zhai Mo set sail on 30 June to journey around the Arctic Ocean and raise awareness on the links between climate change and land degradation. The journey that has been made possible for the first time in human history due to global warming and the melting of Arctic ice caps is a momentous opportunity to call the world's attention to the impact that human activities have on the environment – particularly the Arctic, which is the second largest polar desert in the world after Antarctica. Zhai Mo was recently named “UNCCD Supporter – Arctic Adventurer for 2021 Desertification and Drought Day.” Captain Zhai Mo will travel from Shanghai across the East Sea, the Western Pacific, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea, the Kerala Sea, the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the Greenland Sea, the Davis Strait, the Gulf of Baffin and the Bofert Sea to complete a journey of more than 18,000 nautical miles in about 128 days.  Zhai Mo is the Ambassador of China's Maritime Science and Technology, National Marine Public Interest Image Ambassador, recipient of the Zheng He Marine Special Contribution Award, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Society of Navigation. In2015, he completed the "Re-Walking the Maritime Silk Road." We will follow his Arctic expedition with frequent updates. Stay tuned!

As part of the celebration for the 25th anniversary of the UN in Bonn, the City of Bonn and the Bonn International Non-Governmental Organizations (BINGO) organized a webinar “#UNBonn25: Global Action – Local Interaction” on 23 June, addressing the important linkages between landscapes, agriculture and fair consumption.