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PRESS
RELEASE: India hosts the next UN conference
on land
degradation |
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India hosts the
next UN conference on land
degradation
Bonn,
23 January 2019 - India will host the
next global Conference on desertification, land
degradation and drought from 7 to 18 October
2019 at the Vigyan Bhavan conference centre in
New Delhi. Participants from 197 Parties
to the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will have
access, for the first time, to a wealth of vital
new scientific data. They will have access to
Earth Observation data on the trends in land
degradation dating from 2000, gathered from 120
of the 169 countries affected by
desertification. They will also receive the
first report on desertification and climate
change prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), the global authority
on climate change.
Drawing on this data,
the participants attending the fourteenth
session of the Conference of the Parties (COP14)
to the UNCCD can assess trends in land
degradation, desertification and drought more
accurately. They will also be in a position to
identify associated threats and risks to enable
the international community to agree on the best
solutions and actions to take over the next 10
years.
“India is one of the countries
affected by desertification, and is facing new
challenges, among which are recurrent droughts
and dust and sand storms. The country has
tremendous potential to turn these challenges
into opportunities through improved land use and
management, and to provide the leadership the
world needs to take bold actions,” says Monique
Barbut, the Executive Secretary of
UNCCD.
“India recognizes land
rehabilitation as a cost-effective investment
that can accelerate the transition to
sustainable development globally. With India’s
leadership, the international effort towards
achieving land degradation neutrality could take
huge strides forward. As it assumes the COP
Presidency, the Convention’s 197 Parties can
create the environment we need for innovative
and ingenious solutions to our common goals,”
Barbut added.
India’s population is
projected to reach 1.7 billion by 2050, and the
country was one of the first to commit to the
2030 Sustainable Development Goal target of
achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). LDN
is the Sustainable Development Goals’ target
aiming to halt the degradation of land by taking
three concrete actions. Countries promised to
avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation, in
that order of priority. Achieving land
degradation neutrality can help vulnerable
populations to improve their livelihoods, and
communities all over the world can strengthen
their resilience, especially to natural
disasters linked to climate change.
Ahead
of COP14, government representatives will gather
for a preparatory meeting from 28-30 January in
Georgetown, Guyana, for the seventeenth session of the
Committee for the Review of the Implementation
of the UNCCD (CRIC 17). CRIC 17 will
take stock of results of the first global
assessment of land degradation, based on Earth
observation data reported by governments, and
agree on most of the recommendations that COP14
will consider.
The Conference of the
Parties was established by the Convention as the
supreme decision-making body that today consists
of 197 governments and a regional economic
integration organization. The Parties have met
every two years since 2001 to review progress in
the implementation of the Convention. The last
Conference of Parties, hosted by the Government
of China, was held in October 2017 in Ordos,
Inner Mongolia.
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For more
information contact:
Ms Wagaki
Wischnewski
UN Convention to Combat
Desertification
wwisch...@unccd.int | |
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The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) is an international agreement on good
land stewardship. It helps people, communities
and countries create wealth, grow economies and
secure enough food, clean water and energy by
ensuring land users an enabling environment for
sustainable land management. Through
partnerships, the Convention’s 197 parties set
up robust systems to manage drought promptly and
effectively. Good land stewardship based on
sound policy and science helps integrate and
accelerate achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals, builds resilience to climate
change and prevents biodiversity
loss. | | |
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Sent:
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 1:46 PM
Subject: India
hosts the next UN conference on land degradation
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