LDN as an accelerator of Sustainable Development Goal implementation in Ukraine

In August 2016, the United Nations in Ukraine and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, in close cooperation with other UN organizations, joined forces to launch a series of thematic consultations at the national and regional levels to support the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda. 

The purpose of consultation was to integrate the relevant decisions and outcomes of RIO+20 and SDGs into national policy.

The process has been rolled-out to inform relevant national stakeholders about UNCCD implementation, the selected set of progress indicators, as well as to discuss opportunities that the LDN concept creates for Ukraine with regard to sustainable land management leverage, updating land data and creating country capacity in monitoring and accounting for voluntary LDN targets.

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the UNCCD national focal point and the national science and technology correspondent actively contributed by sharing documentation, participating at expert level meetings and at the National Dialogue, and consulting UNDP.

The results of these consultations will provide the key inputs for a national report titled "SDGs for Ukraine" - the reference document on how to integrate the SDGs in national plans, strategies and programmes. The document will also inform the elaboration of the new "Five-year Government of Ukraine - the UN Development Cooperation Framework".

This is an example of good practice of how LDN can be integrated in national policy processes, shaping the SDG national agenda. It reflects Ukraine's consolidated track record of fostering cooperation among relevant national processes, as previously demonstrated in the context of the UNDP/GEF Project "Integrating Rio Conventions Provisions into Ukraine's National Policy Framework" (2014 - to date). This project supports a local initiative to restore land that has degraded as a result of illegal extraction of minerals, and which directly contributes to the LDN implementation process.

In an effort to reach out to the general public, Ukraine also recently devoted public space to promoting the Rio Conventions and the Sustainable Development Goals, including the production of a bill board dedicated to promote public awareness on combating desertification. UNDP was responsible for setting up the bill board in various regions and cities of Ukraine.