Countries not belonging to a regional implementation annex

Paris, 26 July 2024 - Desertification and land degradation represent a major challenge for the global sporting community. Sports pitches are directly affected by these phenomena. Drought and extreme temperatures make playing surfaces harder and more brittle, increasing the risk of injury for athletes. In addition, frequent heatwaves mean sporting events must be rescheduled, disrupting athletes' preparation and performance.According to a recent survey, 75 per cent of athletes perceive a negative impact on their health and performance because of climate change. In addition to the direct effects on athletes, global warming reduces opportunities for community and youth activities, particularly affecting marginalized groups.Healthy land not only provides us with almost 95 per cent of our food but so much more: it clothes and shelters us, provides us with jobs and livelihoods and protects us from worsening droughts, floods and forest fires. At the same time, population growth and unsustainable production and consumption patterns fuel demand for natural resources. By 2050, 10 billion people will share our planet and depend on healthy land for their livelihoods.To address these issues, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is organizing a ‘Desertification Day’ on 31 July 2024 at the Africa Station of the Olympic Games on Ile-Saint-Denis. The aim of the event is to raise awareness and get the sporting community involved in land issues ahead of UNCCD COP16, the UN's biggest conference on land issues, in December 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.In partnership with the Mairie de l'île-Saint-Denis and the Association d'Esprit d'Ebène, the UNCCD is offering exciting activities such as a desertification fresco, an oasis of solutions, a desertification quiz with prizes to be won, and a screening of the film ‘The Great Green Wall’ by Inna Modja, the UNCCD's Goodwill Ambassador.To mark the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, a debate will be organized with athletes and personalities from the world of sport to demonstrate the links between desertification and sport.Among the participants are:Merem Tahar, Special Envoy on Youth of the President of UNCCDCOP15, Chad/FranceNaomi Akakpo, Olympic Athlete (hurdler), Togo/FranceMustapha Berraf, First Vice-President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, AlgeriaVladyslava Kravchenko, Para Swimming Athlete and member of the International Paralympic Committee's Athletes' Council, MaltaThe day will also see the launch of the UNCCD's ‘Sport4Land’ campaign, which aims to get sports personalities involved in protecting the land: #United4Land for a prosperous future.Restoring land is an effective method of promoting a better quality of life, ensuring food security and sustainable growth.A healthy playground starts with a healthy planet. Let's commit to preserving our land in the same way we commit to our favorite sport!For media enquiries, please contact press@unccd.int.

French  |  German Bern, Switzerland, 10 May 2023 – Today, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) signed a new voluntary contribution agreement for 2023-2024. Switzerland has committed 400,000 Swiss Francs to further support sustainable land management and ensure that all stakeholders, especially those representing the most vulnerable populations, can be fully involved in global decision-making on land and drought issues. Welcoming the agreement, UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said: “I commend Switzerland for its leadership and commitment to UNCCD’s efforts to ensure a sustainable future for our land. Switzerland’s generous support will be vital to improve land tenure systems and invest in solutions that put people—especially the most vulnerable—first.” During the signing ceremony, Ms. Patricia Danzi, Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation said: “Soil is the foundation on which is based our food security and livelihoods. We are happy to collaborate with the UNCCD for global sustainable land management contributing to resilient food systems.” UNCCD was set up in 1994 in response to the global challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought and is one of the three global Conventions that emerged from the Rio Earth Summit, alongside climate and biodiversity treaties. UNCCD works with its 197 signatories to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, a global target enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Up to 40 per cent of land worldwide is currently degraded, with dire consequences for our climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. Droughts are up 29 per cent since 2000, driven by both climate change and land degradation. One of the key areas of the new agreement is to support women’s involvement in land management, advancing legitimate and secure land tenure for all, and collecting gender-disaggregated data on the impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought. Women’s land rights is the focus of the 2023 Desertification and Drought Day marked worldwide on 17 June under the slogan “Her Land. Her Rights.” “Women are major actors in the global efforts to reduce and reverse land degradation. However, in the vast majority of countries, women have unequal and limited access to and control over land. We cannot achieve land degradation neutrality without gender equality, and we cannot exclude half the population from land management decisions because of their gender," UNCCD Executive Secretary Thiaw added. Switzerland joined UNCCD in 1996 and since then has provided long-standing support to UNCCD through core funding and voluntary contributions. For example, Switzerland’s support was essential to ensure the participation of least developed countries and civil society organizations (CSOs) during the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UNCCD held in 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The new agreement will support the implementation of the decisions adopted at the Conference and ensure a diversity of voices in future negotiations under the Convention. In addition, it will reinforce the synergies among the three Rio Conventions, including through nature-based solutions and target-setting at the national level for a more resilient, sustainable future for all. For more information, contact: UNCCD: Ms. Xenya Scanlon Chief, Communications, External Relations and Partnerships T: +49 152 5454 0492 E: press@unccd.int Notes to Editors The contribution from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for 2023-2024 has four objectives: helping advance the policy work of the Secretariat, in particular with regards to land tenure; fostering land-based opportunities through the CSO Panel; ensuring that technologies and information on sustainable land management practices are in line with the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework, also with regards to drought and gender; and facilitating the participation of vulnerable groups at UNCCD meetings and processes —this includes least developed country parties, CSOs, women, youth and indigenous peoples’ groups. About UNCCD The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the global vision and voice for land. We unite governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world’s land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 Parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigating today’s impacts of land degradation and advancing tomorrow’s land stewardship to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner.