February 2013: The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Global Mechanism (GM) has launched a revamped web-based platform titled “Sustainable Land Management (SLM) – Finance.” The site will support the exchange of information on funding and finance for sustainable land management (SLM) among African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, many of which are also small island developing States (SIDS).

The platform, which is part of the EU-funded Scope|ACP project, a South-South cooperation programme, will provide a virtual public space where information, knowledge and experiences relating to combating land degradation and desertification and implementing the UNCCD can be accessed. According to the GM, the virtual network will help support cooperation and knowledge sharing among developing countries as they address common development challenges. Features of the network, which is accessible to all interested stakeholders, include: private and public work spaces; an e-learning course on SLM integrated financing strategies; and advice on resource for project development.

ACP countries that are also SIDS include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. [Global Mechanism Press Release] [SLM Finance Website]