16 April 2010: The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and representatives of the Drylands Development Center of the UN Development Programme (UNDP-DDC) have agreed on a two-year collaborative approach to support the Convention’s stakeholders to align their national action plans with the UNCCD 10-year strategy adopted in 2008.
Representatives from the two organizations gathered on 15 April 2010, in Bonn, Germany, to discuss this collaboration, which will support mainstreaming the action plans into relevant policy processes and raise awareness about the Convention and its related issues, especially poverty alleviation. Noting the interest African governments have demonstrated in their joint policy analysis of Climate Change in the African Drylands, the two institutions agreed to advance work in this area. They also agreed to raise awareness on successful cases of alignment and mainstreaming, among other activities. [UNCCD News Report]