19th Meeting of the Science-Policy Interface: Opening remarks by Ibrahim Thiaw

Dear SPI Co-chairs (Jorge Luis García Rodriguez and Nichole Barger),
Members, Observers, and Early Career Fellows of the SPI,

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to Bonn. We, Bonners, proudly celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven as a true son of the City. You probably noticed that one cannot turn a corner without seeing his image!

What you may not know is Beethoven spent many of his afternoons walking through the forests and farmlands adjacent to the city. They say that if an idea came to him, he immediately wrote it down in a small notebook that he always carried with him. This led to compositions like "Pastorale" which is regarded as his contribution to the relationship between humans and nature.

Relationships between Humans and Nature is what the UNCCD is all about. Call it Land-use, in all its dimensions.
 
It is in this spirit that I welcome this meeting and truly appreciate the work that you do.

Science-Policy Interface is to decision makers what a chemical developer is in a laboratory: it reveals the evidence. But you need that glass magnifier to see the evidence, sometimes written in such small prints that you may miss it.

Your collective focus represents not only a convergence of scientific inquiry among experts that will soon undergo independent scientific review, but also is a testament to our shared commitment to policy makers and those working to implement the Convention all over the world.

Some of you have been assembling the evidence base for a much more systemic approach to land use, so that our impacts can be more strategic and, ideally, much greater than the sum of the parts. 

Others here have been conducting a comprehensive analysis of aridity trends, projections and anticipated impacts, which in our Convention legally translates into land and people affected by the combined effects of land degradation and water scarcity.

Most of you have also contributed to a review of the IPCC 6th Assessment Reports on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Just to think that you not only contributed to this massive report, but that you also have worked hard to find and to transform those key messages most relevant to land and drought into policy-oriented recommendations that otherwise would not come to the attention of our Parties.

Identifying in the small prints of the 4000 pages report elements that relate and resonate with the UNCCD constituency is equivalent to looking for a needle in a haystack. 

The results of your work will be presented at 16th Conference of the Parties of the UNCCD which will take place in early December in Riyadh. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proving to be both generous and ambitious. They are planning an unprecedented COP, working with other countries to augment the negotiations process with a Leaders Summit and a very ambitious Action Agenda. They are dedicated to engaging all key stakeholders, and with your help, this will also include the scientific community. 

I am thus very pleased that this SPI Meeting includes a media training as well as time to discuss what we all hope will be a significant emphasis on science, technology and innovation in a broadly accessible “green zone” at COP adjacent to the “blue zone” where the formal negotiations will take place.

Indeed, all of your voices will be needed between now and COP, during COP and after COP. 
In my encounters with policy makers, I get some questions that may need our attention and that of the media:  

• The links between land degradation/drought and human health
• The evidence that land loss fuels and amplifies massive forced migration; 
• Evidence of the links between land degradation and global security, over and above local conflicts; etc

I know that this is likely to take some of us out of our comfort zone. Perhaps we need to connect more with Institutes of Security Studies. Perhaps we need to connect more to demographers, anthropologists and medical doctors? But clearly, SDGs will hardly be achieved unless we get a better understanding of the links between land loss and few other areas, including health, migration, global security and human security.

Dear friends, 
I am very aware that your dedication to bridging science and policy as evidenced by the considerable time you have generously offered which goes well above and beyond your normal professional obligations. It is this spirit of collaboration and service that truly sets you and this gathering apart.

In this room, you are not merely individuals, but a global community of experts, united by a passion for understanding and safeguarding all life on land – both nature and people.

I put to you that each contribution, each insight, and each moment of collaboration this week carries with it the potential to overcome barriers policy makers face in shaping the trajectory of our planet's future. Every hour spent here represents a commitment not only to the advancement of science but also to the betterment of humanity. It is a privilege to stand among such dedicated individuals, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for your unwavering dedication and service.

Thank you once again for gracing us with your presence, and I wish you a productive and inspiring meeting ahead. 
Please make every moment count.

Thank you!