Context: The 16th COP (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has recently ended in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. The negotiators failed to produce a binding protocol or an agreement on how to respond to drought. Droughts are projected to affect 75% of the world’s population by 2050.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
About United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
- UNCCD was established in 1994 with an aim to protect and restore land and ensure a safer, just, and sustainable future.
- It is the only legally binding international framework set up to address desertification, land degradation and drought.
- There are 197 Parties to the Convention (including 196 countries and the European Union).
- The Convention unites governments, scientists, policymakers, the private sector and communities to combat desertification and promote land restoration.
Regions of Implementation:
- UNCCD addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
- The implementation of the UNCCD is organised around five regional implementation annexes.
- Five world regions have the important job of deciding how to implement the UNCCD:
- Africa
- Asia
- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
- Northern Mediterranean
- Central and Eastern Europe.
Governance Structure of UNCCD:
UNCCD has a number of governing bodies:
- The Conference of Parties (COP):
- Established by the Convention as the supreme decision-making body.
- COP is mandated to review reports from member countries on their Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) efforts and make recommendations.
- It also has the power to make amendments to the Convention or to adopt new annexes (documents which specify how the Convention will be implemented).
- The Committee on Science and Technology (CST) - was established as a subsidiary body of the COP to provide information and advice on scientific and technological matters.
- The Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) - was established as a subsidiary body to the COP to assist it in regularly reviewing the implementation of the Convention.
- Intergovernmental Working Groups (IWG) - are established by the COP to assess specific issues, such as effective policy and implementation measures for drought and the evaluation of the Strategic Framework.
Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN):
- It is a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions, and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.
Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDN Fund):
- Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDN Fund) was launched at the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ordos, China in 2017.
About LDN Fund:
- LDN fund is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle leveraging public money to raise private capital for sustainable land management and landscape restoration activities worldwide.
- It will be independent of the UN and will be managed by a private-sector investment management firm.
- It will invest in bankable projects on land rehabilitation and sustainable land management worldwide, including:
- Sustainable agriculture, sustainable livestock management
- Agro-forestry, sustainable forestry
- Renewable energy, infrastructure development, and eco-tourism.
The Global Mechanism:
- It was established in 1994 to facilitate the mobilisation of financial resources to implement the Convention (UNCCD) and address desertification, land degradation and drought.
- As an operational arm of the Convention, the GM provides advisory services countries that request guidance on how to implement the Convention. This includes advice on how to:
- set National land degradation neutrality targets.
- develop and scale up large projects that transform lives and livelihoods.
- develop National drought plans.
| - In 2015, the GM supported the creation of the LDN Fund - The GM also works with the countries from the Sahel region to mobilize more than USD 16 billion for the Great Green Wall. |
As the dynamics of land, climate and biodiversity are intimately connected, UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions- United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to meet these complex challenges with an integrated approach and the best possible use of natural resources.