Summary
On Monday, 11 September, UNCCD COP 13 delegates gathered for the High-Level Segment. Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China, delivered the message sent by Xi Jinping, President of China and presented a keynote speech, following which the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and other dignitaries addressed delegates. Three parallel roundtables were held during the afternoon, addressing the following themes: Land degradation: A challenge to development, prosperity and peace; Drought and sand and dust storms: Early warning and beyond; and Land degradation neutrality: “From targets to action…what will it take?” A Business Forum also took place.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the UNCCD COP 13. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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High-Level Segment
UNCCD COP 13 logo above the plenary hall
L-R: Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary; Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China; and Zhang Jianlong, President of COP 13
Video presentation on Chinese progress in combating desertification
L-R: Rajeb Boulharouf, Chef de Cabinet, UNCCD Secretariat; Pradeep Monga, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary; and Li Jiheng, Party Secretary Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
L-R: Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat; Jiang Zelin, Deputy Secretary General, State Council, China; and Trevor Benn, Rapporteur
Zhang Jianlong, President of COP 13
Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary
Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China
Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China, delivers the message by Xi Jinping, President of China, and gives his keynote speech
Video message by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Naoko Ishii, CEO, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
María Victoria Chiriboga, Undersecretary of Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Ecuador
Lína Pohl, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, El Salvador
Siim Kiisler, Minister of the Environment, Estonia
Richard Mwendendu, Director, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya
Joseph Chennoth, Apostolic Nuncio to Japan, Holy See
Liu Yang, Youth Representative, China
Rawea Mizel Mahmood, General Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Desertification, Iraq
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, M'Boro Indigenous Women and People Association, Chad
L-R: Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); Catalina Santamaria,
CBD Secretariat; and Cai Lijie, CBD Secretariat
Roundtable 1: Land degradation: A challenge to development, prosperity and peace
Manoel Sobral Filho, Director, UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)
Sydney Alexander Samuels Milson, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Guatemala
View of the roundtable discussions on land degradation
Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, Minister of Interior, Nigeria
Alahgie Camara, President, Gambian Returnees Association, the Gambia
Hamud Mohamud, State Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Somalia
Jennifer MacIntyre, Ambassador for Climate Change, Canada
Roundtable 2: Drought and sand and dust storms: Early warning and beyond
View of the roundtable discussions on drought, and sand and dust storms
Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment
Sheikh Abdullah Ahmed Al-Sabah, General Director, Environment Public Authority, Kuwait
Penomwenyo Pohamba Shifeta, Minister Environment and Tourism, Namibia
Christine Dawson, Director, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs,
Department of State, US
Díego Moreno, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Argentina
Roundtable 3: Land degradation neutrality: “From targets to action…what will it take?”
View of the roundtable discussions on land degradation neutrality
Johanita Ndahimananjara, Minister of Environment, Ecology and Forests, Madagascar
Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary
Cyrie Sendashonga, IUCN
Luc Gnacadja, Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL)
Gilberto Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Cabo Verde
Felix Monggae, Botswana
COP 13 Snapshots
L-R: Domingos Barros, Cabo Verde; Jacques de Pina Tavares, Cabo Verde;
Frederika Teixeira, UNCCD Secretariat; and Gilberto Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Cabo Verde
L-R: Kimo Goree, Vice President, IISD, in a conversation with Christine Dawson, US
A traditional Mongolian yurt serving as a VIP lounge