Nathalie van Haren

In my work over the years I've met people and civil society organisations around the world who develop inspiring initiatives to counter the challenges of land degradation, land conflict and climate change. But these initiatives often go unnoticed by policy makers and financial institutions. That needs to change. The involvement of civil society is crucial to good policy making. That's why I've committed myself to letting initiatives on agroecology to be seen and recognized.

I am an agricultural engineer, working for Both ENDS since 2003. I find the report 'Agriculture at a Crossroads', in which possibilities for healthy, sustainable and fair agricultural and food systems are clearly formulated and the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries two of the most important processes of the last decade.

I have been involved with Drynet – a CSO network supporting local initiatives in drylands – since 2012. Drynet members come from Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia. We focus on the implementation of the UNCCD which is the Rio Convention on desertification, land degradation and land restoration. We do this by bringing local agro-ecological and governance solutions from farmers (f/m) and pastoralists in drylands to policy makers. I have been co-chair of Drynet's board since 2016.

Since January 2018, I have the honour to be on the UNCCD CSO panel on behalf of the CSOs from Western Europe and Other Groups region. I strive for active involvement of CSOs in the UNCCD debates and for better communication between the CSO-community, the UNCCD secretariat and the parties.