22 March 2013: The Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) hosted a meeting that gathered representatives from nine countries to discuss lessons learned and final year priorities for the project “Integrating Climate Change Finance into Sustainable Land Management Investment Strategies” funded by the European Commission.

Representatives from Ecuador, Guatemala, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Niger, Palestine, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania shared lessons at the two-day meeting, which was held in Rome, Italy, on 21-22 March 2013. Participants prioritized holding national-level workshops to promote the development of project proposals, as well as the creation of South-South exchanges.

They discussed the ways that sustainable land management (SLM) activities help meet the objectives of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), as well as climate change and biodiversity goals. They stressed the need for increased cooperation and coordination platforms, as well as a greater encouragement for private sector involvement in SLM.

Recommendations that were presented to the workshops based on recent monitoring and evaluation missions to participating countries include to: hold exercises to estimate the potential costs of climate change to raise the issue on political agendas; expand outreach activities to promote public-private partnerships; prepare project proposals in collaboration with other stakeholders; and coordinate integrated investment framework and integrated financing strategies for SLM in participating countries.

The Integrating Climate Change Finance into Sustainable Land Management Investment Strategies project has been implemented since 2009 and supports countries in: efficiently integrating climate change-related financing into national processes leading to investment frameworks supporting SLM; building capacity to identify, formulate and implement financially feasible mitigation and adaptation projects in the agricultural, rural and land use sectors to benefit SLM and UNCCD implementation; and making available expertise and knowledge on the applicability of current and/or emerging adaptation and mitigation financing mechanisms in developing countries to support the UNCCD and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes.

The Global Mechanism is a specialized body of the UNCCD that helps countries mobilize financing for SLM. [Global Mechanism Press Release] [Project Overview]