31 January 2014: The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and its Global Mechanism have announced a number of changes to the Convention’s Performance Review and Assessment of Implementation System (PRAIS).

The changes were based on decision 16/COP.11, which was developed during the eleventh session of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in September 2013. The changes are focused on simplifying the reporting and review process while increasing the quantity and quality of information to be reviewed by the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC).

The changes include: a reduction in the number of performance indicators, from 14 to 11 for affected country Parties and from 10 to 8 for developed country Parties; a simplified format for reporting on financial flows, resulting in a 70% reduction in the number of required fields; and a simplification of the reporting templates. A reporting manual also has been prepared. The on-line reporting platform has been adjusted, and now allows draft reports to be saved and edited off-line if necessary. The new online reporting platform is expected to be open for report submissions in May 2014. Beginning in July 2014, it is expected that PRAIS will have data mining functionalities.

In addition, the UNCCD Secretariat has noted that the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will submit a proposal to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to developed capacity to monitor and implement the action programmes. A help-desk service will also be a available, and GEF funding for enabling activities is expected [UNCCD News Release]