COP14: UN conference themed “Investing in Land, Unlocking Opportunities” opens in New Delhi on Monday

New Delhi, India, 29 August 2019 – The Fourteenth Session of the Conference of Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification opens on Monday afternoon, 2 September 2019, in New Delhi, India, and ends Friday, 13 September 2019.

A press conference to present the expected outcomes will take place at 13:15 – 13:45 on Monday, 2 September, at the COP14 Press Conference Room (MET02) in the India Expo Mart and Exhibitions Center, Greater Noida, New Delhi, India. The event will also be webcast live. 

Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India, and Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification will preside over the event.

Issues on the COP14 agenda include, drought, land tenure, ecosystem restoration, climate change, health, sand and dust storms, cities of the future, financial investment, and the roles of youth, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. 

Close to 100 ministers and over 3000 delegates from 196 countries are expected at COP14. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed are also expected to attend. 

Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, says, “COP14 has attracted the highest number and of decision-makers ever and at the highest level, in our history. The policy decisions to be taken could mark a major turning point for how we manage the scarce land and water resources we have left.”

“We are fast running out of time to build our resilience to climate change, avoid the loss of biological diversity and valuable ecosystems and achieve all other Sustainable Development Goals. But we can turn around the lives of the over 3.2 billion people all over the world that are negatively impacted by desertification and drought, if there is political will. And we can revitalize ecosystems that are collapsing from a long history of land transformation and, in too many cases, unsustainable land management.”

All bona fide press and media representative are welcome to participation but must first get the approval to participate. Apply via this link.

Detailed information about the Conference is available from the online press kit.

Transportation from New Delhi City center:

A shuttle service for journalists will run from the National Media centre (Raisina Road, Windsor Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India) to the conference venue on 2 September, 9 September and 13 September. All other days, the shuttle service will run from the Ministry of Environment (Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jorbagh Road, New Delhi 110 003) to the Conference venue. Accredited media may use these services for free.

Background documents and information on COP14 are available online. 

You can follow #UNCCDCOP14 and @UNCCD on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Social media pack is available on Trello. 

For further information, please contact: wwischnewski [at] unccd.int (wwischnewski[at]unccd[dot]int), asrivatsava [at] unccd.int (asrivatsava[at]unccd[dot]int,) abhishek [at] prprofessionals.in (abhishek[at]prprofessionals[dot]in)