UNCCD CoP13

Van 6 tot 16 september vond in Ordos, China, de 13e 'Conference of Parties' van de UNCCD (UN Convention to Combat Desertification) plaats. De UNCCD is het wereldwijde verdrag van de Verenigde Naties over de bestrijding van verwoestijning en droogte. Alle landen van de wereld hebben de conventie ondertekend. Canada trok zich in 2012 terug, maar heeft in december 2016 onder leiding van de Trudeau-regering het proces voor hereniging ingezet. Both ENDS is lid van Drynet, een netwerk van lokale organisaties en gemeenschappen in droge gebieden die zoeken naar manieren om land op een duurzame manier te gebruiken.

 

Nathalie van Haren en Karin van Boxtel van Both ENDS waren erbij in Ordos, onder andere om een aantal onderwerpen onder de aandacht te brengen van de afgevaardigden van de UNCCD. Een van die onderwerpen is dat mensen altijd centraal staan in het bestrijden van landdegradatie. Als een overheid duurzaam landgebruik wil stimuleren en daar beleid op wil maken, dan moeten de bewoners van het gebied kunnen meepraten en -beslissen. Zij weten het best wat wel en niet werkt en kunnen dus aangeven wat nodig is en wat nou juist niet.

 

• Lees het weblog van Karin over haar deelname aan de UNCCD COP 13

 

Both ENDS organiseerde samen met partners uit Drynet drie 'side events' tijdens de UNCCD COP 13:

 

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Good land governance which respects the different land use and tenure rights of local communities enables local land users with formal or non-formal (including customary) use rights to be active agents in sustainable land management and land restoration and contribute to the UNCCD goals and SDG 15.3 on Land Degradation Neutrality. With the new UNCCD strategic framework for 2018 - 2030, the challenge is to put the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries (VGGT) adopted by the UN Committee on World Food Security at the heart of the UNCCD. The CSO panel’s policy paper on land governance highlights actions to be taken in this area.

 

These developments raise several questions:

• What elements of good land governance practices push sustainable land management and restoration?

• In what way does the implementation of the VGGT contribute to the UNCCD objectives and SDG 15.3?

• What can we learn from local initiatives and policy-making experiences which recognize formal and non-formal land use rights?

 

In this side event we aim to show inspiring practices of just, accountable and responsible land governance and translate them into policy messages to be integrated in the UNCCD strategic framework.

 

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Interactive dialogue on linking local initiatives on sustainable land management and restoration to the SDG 15.3 implementation.

 

Community-led initiatives are numerous, often small-scale, very local and not seen by government agencies. How do these local initiatives fit in national LDN programmes? What is needed for them to be recognized by government agencies, monitors and statistical bureaus? What can government agencies do to have a good overview of sustainable land management and restoration activities which will support implementation of the target 15.3?

 

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Financing land restoration has been increasingly emphasized as a focus area to meet SDG 15.3 on Land Degradation Neutrality. Most financial mechanisms for community-led land restoration originate from governments through grants, programme funding or climate funds, or involve private philanthropic means. Nevertheless, more and more private commercial funds are mobilized for land restoration projects. The Land Degradation Neutrality Fund illustrates this development, aiming to offer long-term financial mechanisms for land restoration.

 

This workshop will focus on the question how different public and private financing mechanisms can engage in initiatives of local land users and communities - whose land user rights are often informal and customary - to restore land and to use the land sustainably?

 

The question will be addressed by looking at good practices from Niger, where CRESA has successfully re-greened large areas of the Sahel. Hereafter, an overview of financing land restoration possibilities will be presented by WRI. A representative of Mirova will thereafter zoom in on the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund and its role in engaging with local land users and communities.

 

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Meer informatie over wat Both ENDS samen met partners in droge gebieden doet:

Website Drynet

Website UNCCD

Briefing paper september 2017 'Grounding Sustainability: land, soils and the SDG's

Summary of Briefing paper 'Grounding Sustainability: land, soils and the SDG's'

2-pager 'Regreening the Sahel'

2-pager 'Innovative Seed Management in Iran' 

Financing Land Degradation Neutrality 

The Impact of the Drynet Network 

Saffron Flowers and Sunken Gardens: Inspiring Initiatives Reversing Dryland Degradation and Strengthening Livelihoods