UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s COP15

The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 15) is being hosted in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

UN Convention to Combat Desertification COP 15:

• The COP15 theme, ‘ Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity', is a call to action to ensure land, the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations. ?
• COP15 will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders from around the world to drive progress in the future sustainable management of one of our most precious commodities: land. ?
• Land is the bedrock of a healthy, productive society, and COP15 will explore links between land and other key sustainability issues.
• COP 15 is a key moment in the fight against desertification, land degradation and drought.
• It will build on the findings of the second edition of the Global Land Outlook and offer a concrete response to the interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss as we step into the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. ?

About UNCCD:

• Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
• The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
• The UNCCD is particularly committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification and land degradation.
• The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Frameworkis the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations to build.
• The UNCCD secretariat facilitates cooperation between developed and developing countries, particularly around knowledge and technology transfer for sustainable land management.
• Its 197 Parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
• The UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions; the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)with an integrated approach and the best possible use of natural resources.

Conference of Parties (COP):

• The COP was established by the Convention as the supreme decision-making body.
• It comprises ratifying governments and regional economic integration organizations, such as the European Union.
• The 14^thsession was held in India. The latest and 15^th session is being held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
• It has been meeting biennially since 2001.