The UNCCD's efforts to develop impact indicators are noted to be breaking new ground, with the UNCCD being the first of the three Rio Conventions to devise a complex impact assessment process, which could provide the other two Rio conventions – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – with some lessons learned for the future.
3 May 2011: The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has published the latest issue of its UNCCD News publication. Issue 3.1 reviews the outcomes of the second special session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-2) and the ninth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 9), which took place in February 2011, in Bonn, Germany, and reviews China’s anti-drought measures, among other topics.
In his introduction to the issue, UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja notes that discussions at the CST and CRIC have set the stage for the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10), which will convene in Changwon, Republic of Korea, from 10-21 October 2011. The Issue notes that, by the end of 2011, it is anticipated that a first set of tools and methodologies to apply the Convention’s impact indicators will be developed. The UNCCD’s efforts to develop impact indicators are noted to be breaking new ground, with the UNCCD being the first of the three Rio Conventions to devise a complex impact assessment process. It notes that the UNCCD’s experience could provide the other two Rio conventions – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – with some lessons learned for the future.
The article titled “Long-awaited precipitation and irrigation ease drought in China” reviews China’s efforts to fight its recent drought, including the digging of wells, cloud seeding and irrigation. [Publication: UNCCD News, Issue 3.1]