Allocution d’ouverture de M. Ibrahim Thiaw, Secrétaire exécutif de la Convention des Nations-Unies sur la Lutte Contre la Désertification Mesdames et Messieurs les Ministres en charge de l’Environnement et de la lutte contre la désertification des pays membres de l’Initiative de la Grande Muraille…
Speech by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw First, I wish to express my deep gratitude to you, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, and to Costa Rica, for hosting the global manifestations of the 2021 Desertification and Drought Day. This year, COVID-19 has given our global celebrations…
Speech of UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, Thank you to Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, for her opening remarks. Thank you for putting together this special report on drought. My take from the report is that we must act now to…
Remarks by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw Co-Chairs, Council members, Colleagues, and friends First, allow me to wish you a Happy Anniversary. As our instrument turns 30, let us celebrate its great achievements. Celebrate above all thirty years of cooperation. Thirty years of working…
Land sustains life on the planet. Land provides us with food, clean water, and energy. Healthy land is the basis for our own health. Yet, one in five hectares of land is no longer usable. Land degradation is affecting 40% of the world’s population and costing more than 10% of the annual global GDP…
Statement by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw Excellency Mr. President of the General Assembly, Excellency Mr. Prime Minister of India, COP. 14 President, Excellency Mr. President of the Economic and Social Council, Excellency Ms. Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms…
Remarks by the Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw on UNCCD Commitment on drylands in Africa and the Sahel To speak about land is to speak about life in all its complexity. Whether wet, dry, or severely degraded, the land is humanity’s common treasure that we must protect. So, allow me to debunk five…
Opening remarks by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw As UNCCD, we care about land. We care about people’s livelihoods. We care about ecosystems. Having “Land in balance” is our motto. Reconciling the needs of a growing population -and a growing middle class- on one hand, with the need to…
The COVID-19 situation is still dire in many regions of the world as COVID-19 mutates. As most of you already know, we lost Mr. Philbert Brown, our National Focal Point in Jamaica. He was an ardent supporter of the Convention and one of our savviest negotiators and consensus builders. Allow me to…
Message by UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw The pandemic has reminded us how much we depend on each other. How much we depend on nature. How much our fate depends on our relationships with nature. How much we need a good political will, combined with collective action, and sustained…
Statement by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw The Biden-Harris Administration last week outlined its vision of how the United States can conserve and restore 30 per cent of its land and waters by 2030. The report titled, Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful, identifies six…
Message to Parties and Observers from the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw I would like to inform Parties and observers to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, that, at its intersessional meeting held on 08 April 2021, the Bureau of the fourteenth session of the…
A message from the UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw Earth Day 2021 has a starkly simple message: we must make 2021 a pivotal year in efforts to Restore our Earth and build back better from COVID-19. Building a climate resilient and net-zero world must go hand in hand with recovering from the…
Keynote speech by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Dear friends and colleagues, I would like to thank FAO and Director-General Qu Dongyu for the kind invitation and for our cooperation as we kickstart the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Dear…
Madam President, Dear Bureau members, It is, as ever, a pleasure to speak to you and work with you, regardless of the distance the pandemic has forced upon us. I hope that everyone is holding up during what has been a long and wearying period for us all. I commend your continued commitment to our…
A statement by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw After a year in which COVID-19 has swept the world, killing almost three million people – so far – and devastating the global economy, today’s World Health Day is a moment to reflect. This year’s theme of "Building a fairer, healthier world for…
Remarks by UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw Your Excellency Chairperson Ambassador Ammo Aziza Baroud, Excellencies Permanent Representatives, Ambassador Fatima Mohamed, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is indeed a real pleasure to address you today in my capacity as the…
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, has welcomed the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives that were made public this week. The Initiatives aim, among other things, to restore roughly 240 million hectares of degraded land in Saudi Arabia and…
Monsieur le Président du CRIC, Monsieur le Vice-Président, Cinq jours de débats en ligne, en raison de 2 heures par jour, n’auront naturellement pas suffi pour remplir pleinement notre mandat de revue de la mise en œuvre de la Convention. La situation est loin d’être idéale. Grâce à votre…
