5 November 2014: The Global Mechanism (GM) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has organized three workshops on sustainable land management (SLM) finance in Cambodia, with the aim of accelerating implementation of the UNCCD in Cambodia, China, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

A workshop, held on 28 October, in Phnom Penh, focused on economic valuation of land (EVL) methods and brought together national stakeholders and sub-regional UNCCD focal points. By using examples and data from Cambodia, the workshop sought to raise awareness and build technical capacity for economic assessment of land-use change.

A knowledge-sharing forum on strategic environmental assessment (SEA) was held for the Greater Mekong Sub-region in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from 30-31 October. Organized jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the GM, and hosted by ADB and the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, the forum included six sessions, including on: SEAs in the context of spatial planning; and current tools for, and case studies on, valuing and analyzing the impacts of land-use change.

A workshop on incentive- and market-based mechanisms (IMBMs), which carried out a screening exercise with Cambodian experts to identify IMBMs appropriate for the country and discussed related opportunities, took place on 4 November in Phnom Penn.

The GM is a specialized body of the UNCCD that works to help reverse and prevent desertification, land degradation and drought by supporting countries in the mobilization of financial resources and through increased investments in SLM. [UNCCD GM workshops]