Eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP 8)
3-14 September 2007 | Madrid, Spain
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Web coverage:
Monday, 3 Sep - Tuesday, 4 Sep - Wednesday, 5 Sep - Thursday, 6 Sep - Friday, 7 Sep
Monday, 10 Sep - Tuesday, 11 Sep - Wednesday, 12 Sep - Thursday, 13 Sep - Friday, 14 Sep
7:43 am Saturday 15 September: Mary Rowen (US), COP 8 Vice-President, declared the closure of COP 8.
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| Mary Rowen, USA, Vice-President COP 8 |
7:15 am update from Madrid: Ositadinma Anaedu, Nigeria, COW Chair, concluded that, at the request of Japan, an extraordinary session of the COP in New York, but not in the Fifth Committee. He further noted that: the key delegates who have been involved in the process should participate in the session; what has been agreed should not be renegotiated; and the only item to be discussed is the level of the Secretariat budget for 2008 – 2009 as contained in paragraph 8 of the draft decision.
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| Ositadinma Anaedu, Nigeria, COW Chair |
6:30 am update from Madrid: The 9th plenary convened at 6:22 am adopted various decisions except the programme and budget and was suspended at 6:39 am for consultations.
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| 5:00 am: Delegates waiting in the plenary room for the adoption of the remaining decisions. | |
3:00 am update from Madrid: The contact group on programme and budget has concluded its deliberations with a reported agreement to increase the budget by 5% in Euro terms. The plenary is expected to reconvene within the hour to adopt all outstanding decisions.
12:00 am update from Madrid: The closing plenary of COP 8 opened at 10:55 pm. Following statements by COP 8 President Narbona and former Executive Secretary Diallo, delegates adopted decisions from the CRIC and suspended until further notice...
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| Cristina Narbona, Minister for the Environment of Spain, COP 8 President, declared that as COP President, she would undertake to ensure that the Convention moves forward and asked for delegates’ cooperation throughout the next two years. | Hama Arba Diallo, former UNCCD Executive Secretary, said parties must fully implement and feel morally obliged to the Convention, and closed stating the “struggle goes on.” |
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| Delegates give a standing ovation to former Executive Secretary, Hama Arba Diallo. |
10:00 pm update from Madrid: At 10 pm, CRIC Chair Franklin Moore called to order the sixth session of the CRIC. The Committee adopted its Programme of work for CRIC 7, its five draft decisions, two additional decisions passed from the COW to the CRIC, its report, and elected its Vice-Chairs for the Bureau of CRIC 7 and 8. The session adjourned at 10:20 pm.
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| Franklin Moore, CRIC Chair, closes CRIC 6. | The dias at the final session of the CRIC. |
8:30 pm update from Madrid: The CRIC may reconvene at 9:00 pm to consider the decisions that were drafted by its contact group. The contact group on the ten-year strategic plan has reportedly finished its work, but the contact group on programme and budget is still negotiating.
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Uriel Safriel, Israel, left, and Michael Angstreich, Norway, right, welcome former UNCCD Executive Secretary Hama Arba Diallo, center, to COP 8. |
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3:00 pm update from Madrid: During a brief morning session, CRIC Chair Franklin Moore informed delegates that negotiations are continuing, with the contact groups on programme and budget and the ten-year strategic plan holding a joint session to discuss overlapping issues.
Translators have been requested to be available at 6:00 pm in the plenary hall.
Updates will be provided beginning at 8:00 pm on this webpage.
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| The empty plenary hall |
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UNCCD Executive Secretary-designate Luc Gnacadja meets with NGO representatives in the NGO meeting room.
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Gnacadja to NGOs: "I am not to here to speak, but to listen to you... I start 1 October, but could not wait for another two years in order to hear from you...." |
Web coverage:
Monday, 3 Sep - Tuesday, 4 Sep - Wednesday, 5 Sep - Thursday, 6 Sep - Friday, 7 Sep
Monday, 10 Sep - Tuesday, 11 Sep - Wednesday, 12 Sep - Thursday, 13 Sep - Friday, 14 Sep
- UNCCD COP 8 homepage
- COP 8 documents
- CST 8 documents
- CRIC 6 documents
- UN Secretary-General press release regarding Executive Secretary Diallo’s resignation
- UNCCD Global Mechanism
- Global Environment Facility
- IISD RS coverage of the Fifth session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 5), 12-21 March 2007, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- IISD RS coverage of the Joint International Conference “Desertification and the International Policy Imperative”, 17-19 December 2006, Algiers, Algeria
- IISD RS coverage of the Seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (CCD), 17-28 October 2005, Nairobi, Kenya
- A Brief Introduction to the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD)
- IISD RS "Linkages" archive of Desertification meetings
- Linkages Update
- MEA-L - Multilateral Environmental Agreements Listserve
- African Regional Coverage
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