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Press Release
15
September 2017 |
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Countries agree on a landmark
2030 strategy to stop losing
land
15/09/2017
Ordos, China: A third of the
world’s land is degraded. By the end of
the Conference, 113 countries had agreed to
specify concrete targets, with clear indicators,
to reverse degradation and rehabilitate more
land.
Countries also agreed on a
new global roadmap to address land degradation
at the 13th meeting of the Parties to
the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification held in Ordos,
China.
The new UNCCD 2018-2030
Strategic Framework is the most comprehensive
global commitment to achieve Land Degradation
Neutrality (LDN) in order to restore the
productivity of vast swathes of degraded land,
improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion
people, and to reduce the impacts of drought on
vulnerable populations.
“Some
battles took place, but you took bold measures
for our Convention. We have a new strategic
framework and a new reporting cycle. We have a
Drought Initiative. We have taken fundamental
decisions on gender, capacity-building,
migration and sand and dust storms,” said Ms
Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive
Secretary.
The Conference also
witnessed the birth of the first global private
sector fund dedicated to implementing the
Sustainable Development Goals. Known as the
Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDN
Fund), it will be a source of transformative
capital bringing together public and private
investors to fund projects to restore degraded
lands, which come with environment, economic and
social benefits.
With an initial
target size of USD 300 million fund capital, the
LDN Fund is co-promoted
by Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis
Global Asset Management that is dedicated to
socially responsible investment, and the Global
Mechanism of the UNCCD. A
separately-operated Technical Assistance
Facility (TAF) will advise the Fund on
the development of promising sustainable land
use activities in order to build a strong
portfolio of projects.
The
Global Land Outlook, a new landmark
publication unveiled at the Conference,
spotlighted the urgency for swift action. It
reported that 20 percent of the world’s land has
become degraded in just the last two
decades.
“This is the most
comprehensive study of its type, mapping
the interlinked impacts of land on a range of
thematic areas including urbanisation, climate
change, erosion and forest loss,” Ms. Barbut
said of the publication at its
launch.
To reaffirm the progress
made at the summit, more than 80 Ministers from
around the world issued the Ordos
Declaration urging countries to step up
efforts on all fronts to tackle desertification
– one of the planet’s most pressing global
challenges.
“The Ordos Declaration
reaffirms the contribution of ecological
services to food security, private sector, civil
society and youth…. It also recognizes the
importance of addressing climate change,
protecting biodiversity and addressing food
security,” said Zhang Jianlong, Minister of
State Forestry Administration, China, when he
closed the Conference.
He said the
Convention will pay attention to regional
hotspots and intensify cooperation, and
underlined the Belt and Road Cooperation
Mechanism that will support capacity building
along the Silk Road in the
region.
The Conference also took
action to address three new and emerging issues
linked to increasing land degradation – drought,
sand and dust storms and
migration.
Sand and dust storms
threaten the health of millions of people across
the globe, and is a major concern in China where
the Conference took
place.
“Equally, drought
mitigation,” Ms Barbut asserted, “would for the
first time be an area of focus under the New
Strategy.”
“National drought
policies with effective early warning systems
would be crucial in promoting vulnerability
assessment and risk mitigation measures,
particularly in light of the devastating
droughts witnessed in Africa this year that have
left more than 20 million people on the verge of
starvation,” she added.
The
Conference took place from 6-16 September in
Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China.
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Media
Contacts:
Wagaki
Wischenewski
Public Information and Media
Officer
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
Tel: +86 155 9883
5711 (local number in China)
wwisch...@unccd.intFor information about
The Global Land Outlook,
contact:
Sasha Alexander, salex...@unccd.int | |
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The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) is the only legally binding international
agreement on land issues. The Convention promotes
good land stewardship. Its 196 Parties aim,
through partnerships, to implement the Convention
and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The
end goal is to protect our land, from over-use and
drought, so it can continue to provide us all with
food, water and energy. By sustainably managing
land and striving to achieve land degradation
neutrality, now and in the future, we will reduce
the impact of climate change, avoid conflict over
natural resources and help communities to
thrive. | | |
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Sent: Friday,
September 15, 2017 4:43 PM
Subject: Countries
agree on a landmark 2030 strategy to stop losing land
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