16 September 2011: The latest issue of the newsletter from the Secretariat of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), “Rio+20: Making It Happen,” highlights the UN General Assembly’s High-level Meeting on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) and its threats to sustainable development in Africa and around the world.

The high-level meeting was convened on 20 September as part of the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (2010-2020) and to contribute to the UNCSD process.

The newsletter also reports on the dialogue held between the UNCSD Bureau and representatives of international financial institutions (IFIs). According to the newsletter, IFI representatives underscored the need for: making a transition to a green economy; strengthening global partnership for sustainable development; and improving governance of all three pillars in sustainable development.

In a separate segment, the newsletter indicates that the Bureau decided on the organization of work for the Third Session of the UNCSD Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III), and on the structure of the compilation document, which will form the basis for the “zero draft” of the UNCSD outcome document. It also recommended a draft decision for the accreditation of Major Groups to the Conference. [Publication: Rio+20: Making it Happen, Vol. 2, Issue 17]