11 December 2014: Participants focused on the linkages between adaptation and sustainable land and ecosystem management as well as monitoring progress in these areas at an event organized by the Government of China and supported by the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The side event, titled ‘Building a Common Indicator on Land-Based Adaptation for Reporting on the Rio Conventions,’ was co-convened with the Governments of Costa Rica, France, Morocco, Myanmar, Panama and Senegal on the sidelines of the Lima Climate Change Conference.

China will take a synergistic approach to adaptation, capitalizing on co-benefits in biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration, as a way to link the Rio Conventions and economically address drylands issues, according to Xie Zhenhua, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut underscored the challenges facing the three Rio Conventions (UNCCD, UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)). She noted that 25% of terrestrial ecosystems are highly degraded, 75% of genetic biodiversity of agricultural crops has been lost and land use from agriculture is responsible for 20% of carbon emissions.

Barbut and her co-panelists, which included ministers from Costa Rica, France, Morocco (Minister Delegate), Namibia, Panama and Senegal, emphasized a climate agreement must address both mitigation and adaptation and complement the other Rio Conventions. Speakers highlighted ongoing efforts to develop common indicators on land degradation, the role of technology transfer in tackling land degradation and the need to develop better measures of adaptation progress.

Panelists also offered ideas and examples for boosting resilience capacity and advancing the Rio Conventions’ goals simultaneously, such as sharing early warning information “in real time;” exploring approaches to landscape management under REDD+; and a national campaign in Panama to reforest one million hectares of degraded land.

Sakhile Koketso, CBD Secretariat, highlighted that the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group Meeting on Indicators for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (AHTEG-SP) is currently identifying a set of potential indicators for measuring post-2015 progress and suggested these indicators would be a good entry point for collaboration among the Rio Conventions.

During a brief closing ceremony, Panama, Costa Rica and the UNCCD Secretariat signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a project in Panama that will demonstrate how to translate the concept of land degradation neutrality (LDN) into practice. [IISD RS ENBOTS Coverage] [IISD RS Coverage of Lima Climate Change Conference] [UNCCD Event Announcement] [Event Flyer] [UNCCD Press Release]