12 September: UN Day for South-South cooperation

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.