23 January 2012: The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has reported that many innovations have been introduced in the performance review and assessment of implementation system (PRAIS) based on decisions taken at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10).

Other differences in the 2012-2013 reporting and review process are related to decisions taken previously by parties that are to be implemented only in the current biennium. The review of the reporting and review process 2012-2013 by the UNCCD reviews changes related to: reporting entities; reporting elements; reporting tools; online facilities; funding; other forms of assistance; and data quality. The timeline indicates that parties will have from March to August 2012 to compile and submit their reports to the PRAIS portal. The preliminary analysis documents of the reports, which will be submitted to the 11th meeting of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 11) will be prepared by the Secretariat and the Global Mechanism between December 2012 and mid-January 2013.

In parallel to the development of the changes, parties are invited to comment on draft reporting tools posted on the UNCCD website and the PRAIS portal, before they are finalized and made available for the forthcoming reporting cycle. Online consultations with parties and other reporting entities will be organized from end-January to end-February 2012 on a webpage established for this purpose. [PRAIS Information] [Website for Draft Reporting Templates, Consultations]