19 September 2013: The Rio Conventions Pavilion convened for Land Degradation Neutrality Day. The Rio Conventions Pavilion is meeting in conjunction with the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), taking place from 16-27 September 2013, in Windhoek, Namibia.

Land Degradation Neutrality Day included sessions on: community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) for sustainable livelihoods; the role of biodiversity in disaster risk reduction (DRR); soils and law – the legal aspects of land degradation neutrality; and understanding land degradation – towards a sustainable development goal (SDG) on land degradation. The day concluded with a reception celebrating two decades of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Africa, which launched a detailed analysis of two decades (1991-2012) of investments in Africa.

During the session on ‘soils and law,’ experts discussed legal aspects of land degradation neutrality and zero net land degradation (ZNLD) under the UNCCD in context of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) outcome. UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja opened the session, stating that the Rio+20 outcome provides the context for addressing a gap in international law, particularly an instrument on soil, calling for input from experts on related options.

Gnacadja also opened the session on ‘understanding land degradation,’ calling for changing the paradigm of land towards an understanding of land as natural capital and an important foundation for poverty alleviation. This session addressed issues related to both the scientific understanding of land degradation and how to enable sustainable pastoralism through a SDG. [IISD RS Coverage] [Rio Conventions Pavilion Website]