UNCCD meets with LAC representatives to discuss future cooperation in land restoration

The UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw held a virtual meeting with the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Nicaragua Ms. Sumaya  Castillo, the Executive Secretary of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) Mr. Salvador Nieto, and the special envoy for LAC, Mr. Edgar Gutierrez, to discuss a future cooperation cooperation agreement and review land restoration activities in the region.

Both parties expressed strong interest in the upcoming agreement to establish a formal cooperation mechanism and map out specific activities. Mr. Nieto then presented a land restoration project developed by CCAD countries – Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic – with financing from the Green Climate Fund in the Central American Dry Corridor, a strip of dryland that extends throughout the continent.

The UNCCD focal point for Nicaragua Mr. Rene Castellon described activities financed through the LDN Fund to restore 2 000  ha of degraded land. The area designated for regreening and soil recovery is located near the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which contains the last of Nicaragua's natural rain forest inhabited by indigenous peoples. Minister Castillo reflected that the project will rely on the active participation of the local population while respecting their rights and interests.

At the closing of the meeting participants remarked that regular dialog must support the detailed understanding of actions undertaken by countries to implement the convention and helps identify the support that the UNCCD secretariat can provide.