Georgia hosts inception workshop for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

6 June 2016
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“I am pleased to see that shortly after political decisions taken at the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties, the UNCCD Secretariat and the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD together with various key partners such as GEF, IUCN, UNDP and the governments of Korea, Türkiye, Luxemburg, and Trinidad and Tobago have initiated a support programme for countries to set national LDN targets” declared Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, addressing the Regional inception workshop of the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme (LDN-TSP) in Batumi, Georgia, on 6-7 June 2016.

This is the second regional event organized, following the regional inception workshop for African Countries in the framework of a global initiative of the UNCCD Secretariat and Global Mechanism to support a growing number of countries that have committed to set national Land Degradation Neutrality targets – as of now 95 countries. The workshop was attended by representatives of nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Country representatives, representatives of IUCN, UNEP, UNDP, Regional Environmental Center for Southern Caucasus (REC Caucasus), GIZ and the LDN TSP project team discussed the approach and steps towards setting voluntary targets aiming at achieving LDN by 2030 – a concept which is embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We expect that through this Programme the countries will increase capacity in assessing the scope of land degradation, setting LDN targets and analyzing the cost and co-benefits of LDN. Ultimately, this will guide our governments in achieving the SDGs” Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia added.

Participants acknowledged that the LDN-TSP was a very useful platform for raising national capacity and increasing investments in order to avoid, minimize and revert all forms of land degradation. The LDN approach is expected to offer participating countries opportunities to mainstream sustainable land management issues on a new and higher political level, both nationally and globally.

The workshop was organized back to back with the Eighth Ministerial Conference Environment for Europe, held from 8 to 10 June in Batumi. On 8 June, Land Degradation Neutrality and its contribution to sustainable growth were discussed in a side event organized by the UNCCD secretariat, REC Caucasus, the German Cooperation, the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, and GIZ. This event highlighted the high economic potential of sustainable land management and LDN approaches in contributing to green growth, showcasing experiences from Georgia, Belarus and Central Asia.