Highlights and images for 1 December 2025

“Restoring land can’t wait for global agreements or new political cycles to be set in motion…. We must focus on showing how to take immediate action within countries, starting at the local level, in coordination with multilateral commitments.”

This emphatic call to action was made by Juan Carlos Navarro, Panama’s Minister of Economy, host of the 23rd session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD CRIC23).

The call was echoed in many statements on Monday morning, setting the tone for a meeting that aims to “be more than a review session.” 

CRIC23 Chair Philippine Dutailly (France) observed that CRIC23 convenes shortly after subsidiary meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). She said this highlights Panama’s leadership in driving synergies across the Rio Conventions. She underscored the central role of science at this session and lauded the convening of the first CRIC meeting of the UNCCD Gender Caucus.

Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Saudi Arabia, and Advisor to the UNCCD COP 16 Presidency, described 2024 as “the year of land.” Among milestones, he listed:

• the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) resolution on land degradation;
• World Environment Day events on the theme, “Our Land Our Future”; and
• the launch of the Riyadh Action Agenda, among other diverse initiatives announced at COP 16.

Batmunkh Dondovdorj, Chairman of the Office and Executive Secretary of the COP17 National Committee of Mongolia, stressed that despite their significance for cultural as well as natural heritage, rangelands receive less policy attention compared to forests or croplands. He pledged his country’s commitment to delivering an inclusive and scientifically robust dialogue at COP 17, reflective of different regional priorities.

Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, observed that Panama’s experience underscores that water scarcity not only impacts on global trade, but food, climate, economies are deeply interconnected.

Noting that drought could affect three quarters of humanity by 2050, she thanked the COP 16 Presidency for initiating the Tafa’ul Process, an informal and voluntary dialogue platform on drought issues to build consensus in the lead up to COP 17. She also lauded the newly established Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership and the Luxembourg-led Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF) for providing an emerging model for derisking private investments in land restoration.

Juan Carlos Navarro, the Minister of Environment of Panama, described the country’s Natural Panama Fund as an example of how to channel integrated and long-term support for protected areas and communities that depend on them.

Many speakers welcomed:

• the strong focus on science-policy linkages and ongoing dialogue facilitated by the Intergovernmental Working Group on a Future Strategic Framework (IWG-FSF);
• the prioritization of gender and people-centered approaches; and
• the importance of strengthening capacity-building, financing and technical support to improve the timeliness and quality of national reporting processes.

Other issues highlighted in the discussions touched on:

• the importance of embedding land tenure security and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, youth, and other land stewards in land restoration programmes;
• examples of good practice in more integrated implementation of land conservation and restoration programmes at national and regional levels;
• innovative knowledge sharing and funding approaches to strengthen action on the ground; and
• the impact of a shrinking civic space as well as financing flows on land restoration efforts at national and subnational levels.

The African Group, with civil society organizations, regretted that many delegates could not participate at the meeting due to visa restrictions.

In the afternoon, delegates held an exchange of views on capacity-building, with many welcoming a scoping study by the UNCCD Secretariat and Global Mechanism, with recommendations on how to mainstream innovative and technology-driven approaches in the Convention’s implementation. Several speakers stressed the importance of anchoring the proposed capacity-building strategy in the work of the IWG-FSF and called for building on existing good practice, especially at the national and regional levels.

In the evening, the CRIC Contact Group opened its consideration of specific agenda items requiring further work.

Diverse side events took place during the day, covering, among other topics:

• the UNCCD – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Initiative on Land Tenure for Land Restoration;
• innovations in UNCCD Reporting;
• an introduction to the Drought Resilience Investment Facility as a blended finance mechanism for drought resilience;
• scaling integrated approaches for drylands and rangeland resilience; and
• youth engagement.