Highlights and images for 10 September 2019

India

  1. Negotiations
  2. UN Convention to Combat Desertification – UNCCD
  3. 14th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 14)

Summary

Highlights for Tuesday, 10 September 2019

Cultural leaders and activists engaged with high-level participants at the interactive dialogues.

On the second day of the High-Level Segment, delegates held three interactive dialogue sessions on:

  • a values-based approach to land stewardship
  • healthy land – healthy people
  • boosting sustainable value chains for land-based business

    • In the morning, delegates also heard country statements on progress made in implementing the Convention.

    During the closing plenary of the High-Level Segment, chairs of the ministerial roundtable discussions and interactive dialogues presented the outcomes and also took note of progress towards developing the New Delhi Declaration. These outcomes highlighted:

  • the need to protect financial capital in the face of rapid population growth and the resultant pressure on global land resources;
  • the importance of participatory and inclusive dialogue among stakeholders; and
  • desertification and land degradation is a global responsibility that requires partnerships at all levels, and should be guided by scientific knowledge and technology.

    • In closing, COP 14 President Javadekar lauded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commitment to restore 26 million hectares of land, create centers of excellence on land issues, and phase out single-use plastic in India.



    Events held on the sidelines of the meeting included a high-level luncheon to launch the Peace Forest Initiative, which aims to support joint rehabilitation of degraded areas in post-conflict settings; a consultation on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030; and the Day of Action for Land at the Rio Conventions Pavilion focusing on implementation of land degradation neutrality (LDN) projects.



    At the Technology Fair, participants discussed digitalization to foster the urban-rural nutrient and carbon cycle towards sustainable and healthy soils. In the evening, a consultation was held among the ministers of French-speaking communities to promote the development of transformative projects and the mobilization of resources for the implementation of LDN in Francophone areas.



    In parallel, delegates in the contact groups continued to negotiate draft decision text into the evening.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

    For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page

    A Values-Based Approach to Land Stewardship
    Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, India, and Ezechiel Joseph, Saint Lucia
    Dais during the dialogue
    Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chad, and Baaba Maal, Senegal
    Sergio Costa, Minister of the Environment, Italy
    Kemo Fatty, Green Up, Gambia, and Nathalie van Haren, Both ENDS
    View of the room
    Nicolás Gauna, Argentina
    Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, Holy See
    Braulio Huaylla, Bolivia
    Healthy Land – Healthy People
    Lorena Aguilar Revelo, Costa Rica; Dennis Musuku Wanchinga, Zambia; Daniel Tsegai, UNCCD Secretariat; and Howard Bamsey, Global Water Partnership
    Sibongile Mavimbela, Southern African Development Community
    Lorena Aguilar Revelo, Costa Rica
    Participants during the dialogue
    High-Level Segment: Formal Statements Session
    UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary, Pradeep Monga; Jigmet Takpa, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India; and Sharma Sangeeta, COP Secretary
    Yeshey Penjor, Bhutan
    Batio Nestor Bassiere, Burkina Faso
    Joseph Jouthe, Haiti
    Erik Grigoryan, Armenia
    David Goldwin Pollard, Guyana
    Oliver Kumbambe, Malawi
    Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Iceland
    Ibukun Odusote, Nigeria
    Dennis Musuku Wanchinga, Zambia
    Déo Guide Rurema, Burundi
    Boosting Sustainable Value Chains for Land-Based Business
    Dais during the interactive dialogue
    Cai Mantang, Elion Resources Group
    Bernard Giraud, Livelihoods Funds
    Tony Siantonas, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
    Ana Maldonado, Ecuador
    Closing of the High-Level Segment
    Pradeep Monga, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary; Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD; Prakash Javadekar, COP 14 President; Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat; and Rajeb Boulharouf, UNCCD Secretariat
    Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and COP 14 President, Prakash Javadekar
    Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
    Ana Cristina Quirós, Costa Rica
    Ezechiel Joseph, Saint Lucia
    Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
    Around the Conference