Summary
Highlights for Thursday, 12 September 2019
Discussions in the morning took place in the two Committee of the Whole (COW) contact groups on budget, and other matters. With seven draft decisions still unfinished (including texts on drought, land tenure, partnerships and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development) the contact group revisited each decision to resolve the remaining bracketed text. After protracted negotiations and little progress on several decisions, both groups held informal consultations in the afternoon to try and reach consensus, prior to resuming negotiations in the evening.
In the afternoon, the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) convened its closing plenary, where delegates approved the report of CRIC 18 and all seven draft decisions finalized by the Committee.
The COW then met to adopt the first set of finalized decisions that included modalities for the mid-term evaluation of the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework, and follow up of UNCCD thematic issues, relating to migration, sand and dust storms, and gender. The COW also adopted decisions recognizing reports of civil society organizations and the private sector attending COP 14.
Representatives of youth, civil society and business groups provided a summary of their reports prior to adoption. Among other issues, they called for: a more open COP process allowing young people to participate more meaningfully; ending the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture; securing land access and improving direct access to finance to local communities in particular youth and women involved in land restoration; improving the integration between UN frameworks and adopting a “new deal” for nature; and harnessing the role of market-based mechanisms including carbon markets.
In the evening, the Conference of the Parties (COP) plenary adopted the CRIC decisions and the report of CRIC 18.
On the sidelines of the COP, numerous events took place addressing, among other topics: ‘From global frameworks to local actions: the change that (upcoming) global reports can bring to policies and action on sustainable land management’; financing and setting up enabling activities for UNCCD under GEF7; Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) for food security and poverty alleviation; synergies with the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030; geospatial and earth observation technologies for monitoring land degradation; and combating desertification and drought through the climate funding windows.For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB meeting coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from UNCCD COP 14. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from this session, which is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Ángeles Estrada
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Contact Groups
Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention
Johns Muleso Kharika, UNCCD Secretariat; Anja Thust, UNCCD Secretariat; Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) Chair Samuel Contreras, Philippines; Sharma Sangeeta, CRIC Secretary; and Anna Luise, CRIC Rapporteur
Committe of the Whole
Conference of the Parties
Conference of the Parties
Side Events
Around the Venue
