LAC workshop builds regional capacity for successful UNCCD reporting

9-12 April, 2018 – Fortaleza, Brazil – The Global Support Programme workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has brought together 62 delegates from 26 countries to develop technical capacity for the UNCCD national reporting process. 

During the opening session, representatives of the national and regional government, local institutions and the UNCCD spoke of Brazil's historical commitment to the work of the convention, as well as the role that capacity building can play in the UNCCD implementation in the country and across the region.

An extensive agenda with considerable technical components motivated the participants to work closely with the UNCCD team of facilitators to gain expertise on how to effectively use the UNCCD reporting tools, including the recently revamped PRAIS3 platform and the innovative Trends.Earth tool developed by Conservation International. These instruments will enable country Parties to prepare and analyze their indicator data as part of the UNCCD reporting process and LDN monitoring, as well as future reporting under the SGD process. 

The workshop included a discussion on various UNCCD-related issues of regional importance, as well as additional sessions with the representatives of UN Environment and Mirova, during which the delegates received detailed information on the operationalization of the GEF funded Umbrella Project and the LDN Fund. FAO and the Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) have also organized side events to discuss UNCCD initiatives related to the implementation of the convention.

The event has been positively evaluated by the delegates as an on-target initiative to ensure a successful UNCCD national reporting process and prepare for the seventeenth Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC), which will take place in Guyana in January 2019.