14 November 2014: During the “Planet Plenary” at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress, which is taking place in Sydney, Australia, Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and Christopher Briggs, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, announced a public commitment “to create a sustainable and resilient future for our children by stopping and reversing land degradation.” Also during the plenary, Briggs indicated that Ramsar would launch a global partnership for wetlands restoration with the UNCCD in 2015.

In their announcement, Briggs and Barbut said “the goal that makes sense is to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality” (LDN). They indicated that LDN means “a state where the total area of healthy and productive land and wetlands stabilizes and eventually increases.” To accomplish this goal, they noted that the drivers of degradation would need to be addressed, followed by promotion of restoration.

They noted that their organizations have already addressed these topics, with Ramsar’s draft Strategic Plan for 2016-2021 incorporating a call to “prevent, stop and reverse the degradation and loss of wetlands and to use them wisely,” and the UNCCD working to build a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification and land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas. [IISD RS Sources][IISD RS coverage of Planet Plenary at IUCN World Parks Congress][UNCCD website][Ramsar website][UNCCD News Release]