March 2015: As part of preparations for the global civil society forum, Desertif’actions 2015, local and international organizations are holding a series of national preparatory workshops and a multilingual online consultation between February and May 2015 on the theme: ‘Climate change and the preservation of drylands – time to act!’

The preparatory events will be structured around the three main themes of Desertif’actions 2015: integrating climatic evolutions into decision making and actions; creating greater synergy among the three Rio Conventions; and achieving a pluralistic and organized civil society.

Co-organized by Centre d’Action et de Réalisations Internationales (CARI) and its partners, the consultations will also develop collective civil society positions in preparation for various global events taking place in the latter part of 2015, including: intergovernmental negotiations towards a post-2015 development agenda; the 70th session of the UN General Assembly; the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); and the Paris Climate Conference. The events are organized under the auspices of the International Year of Soils 2015. [Desertif’actions 15 Website] [Preparatory Process]