The 10th Conference of Parties under the UNCCD held in Changwon, Republic of Korea, 10-22 October, gives reason for increased optimism for the future work of the UNCCD.
For the last two years, the UNCCD has mainly struggled with administrative matters. However, during COP10 decisions were taken on issues that until now have been difficult to resolve, such as streamlining the governance of the Global Mechanism and the Secretariat of the Convention. Hopefully, this will allow the UNCCD to move from focusing on internal organizational matters to raise DLDD issues to the top of the international agenda.
The Rio +20 process should prove a good occasion to raise awareness and momentum to set targets for action on DLDD issues. This is crucial not only to implement the UNCCD 10-year strategic plan, but also to ensure a holistic understanding of the issues at stake: Climate change mitigation and adaptation, preservation of biological diversity, and prevention of desertification, land degradation and drought are interchangeable challenges. As Civil Society Organisations pointed out during the Open Dialogue Session (ODS) held 14 October: - On the ground, there is no difference!
To read the daily up-dates from COP10, visit the Environmental Negotiations Bulletin, the IUCN-blog, as well as the daily ECO newsletter published by the CSOs who participated.
Open dialogue sessions
As part of the official program of the COP, civil society organisations organised two open dialogue sessions where CSOs and Parties discussed issues prepared by the CSOs present.
The first ODS held 14 October focused on best practices from a regional perspective, but also intended to deliver a strong message to Parties about the urgency of combating DLDD, and the social cost of inaction. The five CSO-presentations can be downloaded here: East Asia, Colombia, Moldova, Western Europe, and India.
During the second ODS held 19 October, CSOs chose to emphasise issues we think should be of particular importance for the convention. The presentations can be downloaded here: gender, urban areas, partnerships, land grabbing, and adaptation to climate change.