ICID+19 Africa

Approximately one hundred participants, scientists and policymakers from Africa, Brazil, Argentina and France, as well as representatives from international organizations, met in Niamey (Niger) from 24-25 October, at the “Fight Against Desertification in Africa” conference, also known as ICID+19 Africa. Over the two days, participants discussed the situation of dryland regions (arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid lands), with a special focus on Africa, and developed recommendations addressed to policy-makers in the Declaration of Niamy.

UN/GA Second Committee: General Discussions

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the UN General Assembly (UN/GA) has concluded its general discussion on sustainable development (Agenda item 19) covering ten sub-items, including on small island developing States (SIDS), climate change, disaster reduction, desertification, biodiversity, renewable energy, and implementation of Agenda 21. The Committee will meet on 10 November 2011 to begin consideration of draft texts on these issues.

Statement of UNGA President
Statement of Sha Zukang, Introducing UN Secretary-General's Reports
UN Summary, 31 October
UN Summary, 1 November
UN Summary, 3 November
Draft Texts under Consideration

UNCCD/COP-10 Outcomes

Delegates to UNCCD/COP-10 adopted 40 decisions, including on addressing the governance of the Convention's Global Mechanism (GM), scientific advice, and performance and impact indicators. 
Decisions

GEF Report to UNCCD

GEF, acting for the first time as a financial mechanism to UNCCD, presented a report to COP-10 of the Convention highlighting programme and project activities in the focal area of land degradation from July 2009-June 2011, which totals an investment of US$60.6 million.
The decision to act as as a financial mechanism to the UNCCD was taken at the fourth GEF Assembly in May 2010.

GEF Press Release
IISD RS Coverage of UNCCD COP 10
IISD RS Coverage of Fourth GEF Assembly

UNCCD/COP-10: Connection with Rio+20

The first day of the High-level Segment for COP-10 included a roundtable discussion focused on the theme “The UNCCD in the context of Rio+20: Addressing desertification, land degradation and drought as a cornerstone of the Green Economy.”

IISD-RS Reporting

Arab League: Desertification and Biodiversity MEAs

The Secretariat of the League of Arab States organized the meeting of the "Arab Working Group on the implementation of biodiversity and desertification related [MEAs]," from 25-27 September. Participants heard reports on work over the past year, as well as proposals from the MEAs about plans for their future activities relevant to the region.

Ramsar Press Release

UN/GA: High-level Event on Desertification

Prior to the opening of its 66th session, the UN/GA convened a High-level Meeting on addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. Following deliberations, the Office of the President of the General Assembly presented a summary of the discussions, and said it would be referred to UNCCD/COP-10 and Rio+20.

See the following links for more information:
UN Summary of Event
Statement of GA President
Statement of UN Secretary-General
Webcast of Opening Plenary
Webcast of Panel 1
Webcast of Panel 2
Webcast of Closing Plenary
UNCCD Website for UNGA High Level Event
GA President's Summary of Discussions]

UNCCD: Call for Action

Representatives of past Presidents of UNCCD COPs, along with the forthcoming COP-10 host, the Republic of Korea, convened in Geneva on 3 September to discuss upcoming meetings of the UN/GA on the theme “Addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication,” and UNCCD/COP-10. Discussions resulted in the "UNCCD Geneva Call for Urgent Action on the Implementation of the Convention", which emphasizes the need to strengthen UNCCD to become a global authority on scientific and technical knowledge on the issues of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) and to align national actions with the 10-year strategy for 2008-2018, as well as confirming support to take the necessary measures at the UNCSD (Rio+20) towards mainstreaming DLDD as a major component of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

UNCSD (Rio+20): Eight Priorities

Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of UNCSD (Rio+20), summarized a recent speech in a new post to his blog elaborating on eight “new and emerging challenges” that States and other stakeholders have highlighted for priority attention.

The challenges are identified as:
1) green jobs and social inclusion, emphasizing the social pillar of sustainable development and the problem of unemployment;
2) energy access and security, noting the problem of energy poverty and calling for endorsement of the initiative for universal energy access by 2030;
3) food security and sustainable agriculture, calling for protecting soils, water, and biodiversity in efforts to feed more people;
4) sound water management, to combat desertification and drought, as well as the risk of conflict over scarce water;
5) urbanization and sustainable cities, noting the potential for cities – through building and transport practices – to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and solve other sustainable development problems;
6) management of the oceans and marine resources, calling for accelerated implementation of Chapter 17 of Agenda 21;
7) enhancing disaster preparedness and resilience, particularly in “vulnerable developing countries;” and
8) means of implementation, on which he noted developing countries’ need for international support to build greener infrastructure and industries, which he suggested could be met through a new public and private financing initiative, such as a global green economy fund.

GEF: Programme for Desertification and Food Security in Africa

According to IISD Reporting Services, the 40th meeting of the GEF Council, together with the 10th meeting of the Council of the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), has approved an integrated land-use programme to fund investments to address priorities set by 12 African countries in West Africa and the Sahel.

The new programmatic approach will address desertification and food security in Africa, including through a US$108 million project administered by the World Bank. Further commitments expected by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and other international donors for related programming are expected to draw close to US$3 billion.

The programme includes the Great Green Wall Initiative, which will create a biological corridor along Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. It also includes Benin, Togo and Ghana, which also have important savannah and forest systems linked to the Sahel/Sahara region.

The goals of the programme are to: expand investment in sustainable land and water management technologies in order to help communities adapt production systems to climate variability and change; improve land use planning; and improve climate and water monitoring network improvements, institutional cooperation within and across countries, and evidence-based policy development.

GEF Press Release