Live from the UN desertification conference
Here we report live from the biennial conference of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) that takes place 10 to 21 October in the Republic of Korea. IUCN's experts will be giving the inside track on the key issues being discussed.
More ingredients, better taste
21.10.2011. At my first attendance at a UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference, it is encouraging to see in Changwon that decision makers are increasingly recognizing desertification and land degradation as drivers of both natural resource depletion and poverty in many affected dryland countries, writes Asli Toppare of the TEMA Turkey & Drynet network. …
21 Oct 2011 | Blogs
Time to remove silk gloves
20.10.2011. During a presentation held by Professor Rattan Lal during the high level segment of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, one of the arguments raised was that when people are poverty-stricken and desperate, ensuring sustainable land management is not their priority. This is of course a valid argument, and one that we have heard many times before. But is it the desperate hunger-stricken people of the world who constitute the main human driver of desertification? writes Martine Dahle Huse, information and policy officer at Drylands Coordination Group. …
20 Oct 2011 | Blogs
Making good sense more attractive than nonsense
19.10.2011. This second week of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification has seen an escalation of activity, as Ministers arrived in town. Parties have worked into the night to resolve differences of opinion and develop a text for adoption by the Conference, writes Jonathan Davies, Coordinator of IUCN’s Drylands Initiative. …
19 Oct 2011 | Blogs
A bold new frontier for conservation
18.10.11. "We have spent these two weeks meeting with other civil society groups and talking with our government representatives and international donors, trying to receive greater support for Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas. We're telling them that this is 'a bold new frontier for conservation'”, writes Nahid Naghizadeh, from CENESTA, The Centre for Sustainable Development - an IUCN Member from Iran. …
18 Oct 2011 | Blogs
A conference with a difference
17.10.11. To counter growing risks of land degradation and drought caused by desertification in drylands, home to more than two billion people, the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened on 10 October and runs through 21 October, writes Wynne Boelt of the UNCCD. …
17 Oct 2011 | Blogs
Mixed progress but good intentions
14.10.11. Looking back at the end of Week One, business is well underway and the initial excitement of luxuries provided to delegates by the organizers, such as the Samsung tablets distributed to upload the daily papers in an effort to "green" the Conference, free water in the corridors, two arms full of Korean presents, and free donuts served by Dunkin Donuts over lunch, are starting to wear off, write François Rogers and Lorena Aguilar of the IUCN Gender Office. …
14 Oct 2011 | Blogs
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Natural solutions to global issues
13.10.11. This is my first UNCCD Conference and I’m struck by how different it is from Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meetings yet how many of the same issues keep coming up, writes Kathy MacKinnon of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. …
13 Oct 2011 | Blogs
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Pushing hard for land rights
12.10.11. A big hello from the beginning of day three, writes Pablo Manzano, Global Coordinator of the World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism (WISP). It’s the second time I have attended a UNCCD event and things are much smoother here once you are more familiar with the overall environment of UN discussions. …
12 Oct 2011 | Blogs
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Speed-dating in the world of dryland conservation
10.10.11 Greetings to you all from the Changwon Exhibition Convention Centre in the Republic of Korea where I'm attending the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), writes Jonathan Davies, Coordinator of IUCN’s Drylands Initiative. …
10 Oct 2011 | Blogs
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