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Leaders’
summit in Côte d’Ivoire kicks off major UN
Conference on the future of land
stewardship
- The
UN Convention to Combat Desertification convenes
the 15th session of its Conference of
the Parties in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9-20
May 2022
- Heads
of State Summit hosted by President Alassane
Ouattara on 9 May will address multiple crises
linked to land degradation
- Countries
to decide on future actions to mitigate
escalating drought risk
5 May 2022,
Abidjan - The 15
th session of
the Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD), opens on Monday, 9 May 2022 in Abidjan,
Côte d’Ivoire.
The COP15 theme,
‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to
prosperity', is a call to action to
ensure land, which is the lifeline on this planet,
will also benefit present and future
generations.
The Conference will
start with a Heads of State summit and high-level
segment held back-to-back on 9-10 May to create
political momentum and raise ambition in
particular in meeting the 2030 global commitments
on restoration and robust actions that build the
resilience of communities that are vulnerable to
drought.
Leaders are meeting in
Abidjan against the backdrop of a stark warning
issued by the UNCCD that up to 40% of all ice-free
land is already degraded, with dire consequences
for climate, biodiversity and
livelihoods.
The Conference will
focus on the restoration of one billion hectares
of degraded land between now and 2030,
future-proofing land use against the impacts of
climate change, and tackling escalating disaster
risks such as droughts, sand and dust storms, and
wildfires.
More than a dozen heads of
state and government, ministers and at least 2,000
delegates from 196 countries and the European
Union are expected to be at the two-week
Conference that ends Friday, 20 May 2022.
High-level delegates include:
- Alassane
Ouattara, President of Côte d’Ivoire
- Amina
Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United
Nations
- Abdulla
Shahid, President of the United Nations General
Assembly
- Ibrahim
Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention
to Combat Desertification
- Patricia
Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change
- Elizabeth
Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on
Biological Diversity
- Carlos
Manuel Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer,
Global Environment Facility
- Inger
Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations
Environment Programme
- UNCCD
Land Ambassadors Tarja Halonen, Ricky Kej, Byong
Hyon Kwon, Baaba Maal, and Inna Modja
- UNCCD
Land Heroes David Chapoloko, Musa Ibrahim,
Patricia Kombo and Moses Mulindwa
UNCCD COP15 is the first of
the three Rio Conventions meetings to be held in
2022, with Biodiversity COP15 and Climate change
COP27 convening later on in Kunming, China and
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,
respectively.
Among the programme
highlights:
- Announcement
of the Abidjan Legacy Programme on 9 May by the
President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara,
focusing on job creation and the restoration of
degrading land in Côte d’Ivoire;
- Gender
Caucus on 9 May chaired by the First Lady of
Côte d’Ivoire Dominique Ouattara, which will
include the launch of a new report on the
differentiated impacts of desertification, land
degradation and drought on men and women;
- Green
Business Forum on 10-11 May that will focus on
private sector commitments to take care of the
land, among other things.
- Launch
of Droughtland, a global campaign to rally
action on drought on 11 May
- Launch
of the regional Global Land Outlook reports on
18 May
- Launch
of the Sahel uplink challenge to enable
communities growing the Great Green Wall to use
technology to monitor progress, create jobs and
commercialize their produce.
The press events planned
during the session include:
Opening
press conference on Monday, 18:00-18:45 GMT (Press
Conference Room)
- Prime
Minister and/or Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Côte d’Ivoire
- Amina
Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United
Nations
- Ibrahim
Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
The panel will present the
host-country ambition and legacy initiative, COP15
expected outcomes and findings of the study
on gender, among other
issues. Press Briefing on
Monday, 9 May, 08:15 (GMT)
- Ibrahim
Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
- Mr.
Jochem Flasbarth, State Secretary in the Federal
Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development
of Germany
Press Briefing on
Tuesday, 10 May (time and location to be
determined)
- Abdulla
Shahid, President of the General Assembly of the
United Nations
Press
Conference, Wednesday, 11 May, 13:00-13:30 Press
Conference room
- Ibrahim
Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary
- Representative
of Spain, country hosting the global observance
of Desertification and Drought Day 2022
- Civil
Society Representative
Launch of Droughtland, a
global campaign to rally drought action
globally Press Conference,
Friday, 20 May, 13:00-13:45 GMT
- Mr
Abou Bamba COP15 President
- Ibrahim
Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary
Present the outcomes of
the 15th Session of the Conference of
Parties Media representatives
are welcome to participate. Apply via this link:
https://www.unccd.int/cop15/registration
to receive accreditation.
Press
conferences will be conducted with interpretation
in English, French and Spanish but webcast in the
floor language. Off-site journalists may submit
their questions to the panelists via email to
pr...@unccd.int,
but must identify themselves and the media
organization they are reporting
for.
Detailed information about the
Conference is available from the online Press
Kit.
Background documents and
information on COP15 are available
online: at:
https://www.unccd.int/cop15 Social
media for the Conference can be found on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unccd/Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/UNCCD/Twitter:
https://twitter.com/UNCCD #LandLifeLegacy
#UNCCDCOP15
#United4Land
@unccd For further
information, please contact:
Xenya Scanlon,
xsca...@unccd.intChief
of Communications
Ms. Wagaki Wischnewski,
wwisch...@unccd.intHead
of Press and Media
For interview requests,
contact:
pr...@unccd.intUse
this link to request to the use of the Press
conference room or recording studio
facilities:
