UNCCD COP14

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will hold it's 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) in New Deli, India from September 2-13. The theme of this year's conference is Restore Land to Sustain Life. Representatives from governments around the world will focus on filling the critical gaps in land management and planning while highlighting practical actions to reverse land degradation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

WLE will be involved through its partners at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and World Agroforestry (ICRAF), which co-lead our research themes on Land and Water Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture and Restoring Degraded Landscapes, respectively, as well as through our lead organization, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Ermias Betemariam of ICRAF is a member of the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) which aims to promote dialogue between scientists and policy makers on desertification, land degradation and drought. In his role as a SPI member, Dr. Betemariam will act as a high panel member on the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Report panel.

Applying the Research in Development Approach to Scale Land Restoration and Achieve the LDN Targets

Monday, September 2, 13:00-15:00 in MET-06

Co-hosted by ICRISAT and ICRAF, this side session will be led by Anthony Whitbread of who co-leads WLE's Land and Water Solutions.

Integrated Drought Risk Management (IDRM) to Enhance Resilience to Agricultural Drought

Tuesday, September 3, 8:00-10:00 in MET-07

Co-hosted by WLE, IWMI and the Center for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), this session will look at how local communities can mitigate drought risk by integrating agricultural water management solutions with water management needs of other sectors.

Soil Carbon - a Key Indicator for LDN

Friday, September 5, 11:30-12:30 in the Rio Conventions Pavilion

 Dr. Betemariam will present as part of  Science Day, a forum to support planning and implementation of LDN at the country level. He will present as a member of the SPI in order to ensure policy uptake of research. Read the agenda for the SPI Science Day.

To learn more, please visit the COP14 website.