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Communiqué
High-Level
Breakfast on The Great Green Wall
On the
margins of the UNCCD Fourteenth Session of the
Conference of the Parties (COP14)
9
September
2019
United Nations
Conference Themed "Investing in Land, Unlocking
Opportunities" Opens in New Delhi,
Monday
On 9 September at a
High-Level Breakfast meeting held in New Delhi,
India, partners of the African-led Great Green
Wall Initiative agreed to develop a visionary
roadmap, a decade after its launch, with bold
targets to restore 100 million hectares of land
and create 10 million green jobs by 2030 across
the Sahel.
Co-chaired by H.E.
Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, United Nations Deputy
Secretary-General and H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia
Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Rural
Economy and Agriculture, the event was held on
the margins of the Fourteenth Session of the
Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD).
During the meeting
– facilitated by the UNCCD
Secretariat, in collaboration with the
Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall
(PAGGW), represented by H.E Marieme Bekaye,
Minister of Environment and Sustainable
Development of Mauritania and President of the
Council of Ministers – partners
commended current progress by Great Green Wall
member states, supported by the AU, PAGGW and
international community.
Raising
concerns that 65% of land on the African
continent is still degraded, partners called for
the initiative’s swift upscaling and
acceleration, to further advance social
cohesion, climate action (both adaptation and
mitigation) and economic development via a
transformative ecological corridor that supports
millions of lives.
During the
meeting, partners agreed that the roadmap would
focus firmly on the Initiative’s contribution to
15 of the 17 SDGs. By 2030, the initiative aims
to ensure:
- Large-scale
landscape restoration – with a target
to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land
to transform the lives of those living on the
frontline of climate change and
desertification
- Creation of 10
million green jobs including through
sustainable value chains and connecting local
producers to lucrative global markets
- Promotion of
clean energy, powering communities
along the Wall to a brighter future and creating
local economies that ensure land remains
productive
Participants
affirmed that in order to fulfill the ambitions
of the Great Green Wall Initiative, and support
the implementation of the roadmap, a more
innovative approach and robust coordination
mechanism are required for real transformation
and resource mobilization, including to leverage
the assets of the region and the opportunities
offered by the youth and women as the main
drivers of change.
A joint
commitment was made to mobilize technical and
financial resources, from the public and private
sectors through win-win partnerships,
recognising that private sector investment is
vital in creating green jobs and wealth along
the Wall and ultimately achieving the 2030
vision. Participants exchanged views on a myriad
of opportunities the region offers, with an
emphasis on sustainable value chains, renewable
energy and rural entrepreneurship, and stressed
the importance of changing the narrative to
underscore the Sahel as a “land of
opportunities”.
In the wake of the
recent IPCC ‘Climate Change and Land’ Report
– which highlights land
rehabilitation as one of the single most
impactful ways to tackle the climate emergency
– partners highlighted the need
to capitilize on the growing political momentum
behind initiatives such as the Great Green Wall.
It was noted that the upcoming UN Secretary
General’s Climate Action Summit on 23 September,
would be crucial in further galvanizing support,
including within the framework of the
nature-based solution track, to advance
affirmative action for the Great Green Wall by
2030 and inspire a global restoration
movement.
Participants in
attendance included the African Union
Commission, Pan African Agency of the Great
Green Wall, Government Ministers – including
those from countries participating in the Pan
African Agency for the Great Green Wall
Initiative; The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, Heads of COP Delegation from
UNCCD parties, the UN system, IGOs, regional
actors; private sector stakeholders; civil
society organisations, Great Green Wall
Champions - Baaba Maal, Ricky Kej, and
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim.
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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
197 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: Monday, September 09, 2019
10:59 AM
Subject: Communiqué: High-Level
Breakfast on The Great Green Wall
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