27 March 2015: Delegates to the 13th session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 13) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) made a critical assessment of the status of the Convention and exchanged views on how to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness. Pointing to the continuing “implementation gap” despite the high number of submitted country reports, several delegates questioned whether “we are collecting the right information to spur further action,” and suggested that a focus on synergies with the other Rio Conventions and adopting a global target on land degradation neutrality (LDN) could enhance the Convention’s impact.

Sharing her assessment of the reporting and review exercise, UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut highlighted shortcomings that require attention, with particular regard to measuring progress toward achieving sustainable land management (SLM) goals at national and global levels. She suggested that national reporting should focus on information that leads to a better understanding of land degradation and should “convince donors to increase financing by demonstrating the importance of land management, in particular for climate change mitigation and adaptation.” Highlighting ongoing efforts to develop common indicators among the three Rio Conventions, Barbut noted that LDN could become “a tangible national objective,” if adopted as part of a global post-2015 agreement.

Among ‘process’ actions to enhance the Convention’s relevance, Executive Secretary Barbut proposed: a longer reporting cycle of four years in order to focus on measuring impacts and results and enhance alignment with the GEF; holding back-to-back sessions of the CST and CRIC alongside major international events such as the Global Soil Week; strengthening regional implementation and governance, including by holding annual regional conferences; and strengthening the CRIC Bureau.

During three days of discussions, CRIC 13 delegates assessed the implementation of the Convention against five operational objectives contained in the UNCCD’s Ten-year Strategy (2008-2018): advocacy, awareness-raising and education; policy framework; science, technology and knowledge; capacity building; and financing and technology transfer. Presenting a preliminary analysis of reports submitted by country Parties and other reporting entities, the Secretariat noted that approximately 95% of affected country Parties and almost 70% of developed country Parties submitted their reports through the Performance Review and Assessment of Implementation System (PRAIS) online platform.

The Global Mechanism (GM) – a specialized UNCCD body that supports countries to mobilize financial resources and increase investments in SLM – introduced the proposed LDN Fund, a financial instrument designed to support land restoration efforts by the public and private sectors, with a focus on large-scale projects. The GM report also outlined other funding options, including the Green Climate Fund and “Initiative 20×20” that was launched at the Second Global Landscape Forum in 2014. In their final recommendations, delegates note that the LDN approach might not be sufficient to bridge the funding gap and call for the next GEF Assembly to address “unequal distribution of funds” among the Rio Conventions. The CRIC 13 report further requests the UNCCD Secretariat to undertake a study of the “long-term global impacts on non-action regarding land degradation,” and the GM to “explore the options to provide default data on financial flows to countries for their verification.”

A UNCCD Secretariat report analyzing the status of public awareness and stakeholder involvement in the implementation of the Convention noted that by the end of 2013, 28% of the global population had been informed about the need to combat desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) and synergies among DLDD climate change and biodiversity (close to the 30% target agreed in the Ten-year Strategy). Among their final recommendations on this issue, delegates call for incorporating the LDN concept in advocacy, awareness-raising and educational efforts, and making greater use of success stories in national reporting “rather than data that may be unreliable.” With regard to science and technology, and capacity building, CRIC 13 calls for, inter alia, South-South and triangular cooperation and inclusion of targeted actions on DLDD capacity building in the 2016-2017 work programmes of the Convention’s institutions. With specific reference to the post-2015 development agenda, CRIC 13 requests the Secretariat to continue facilitating pilot projects for countries that wish to implement the LDN approach in their National Action Programmes (NAPs) and encourages countries to adopt their own voluntary targets to achieve LDN by 2030.

During the closing session, delegates revised and adopted a draft report prepared by the Extended CRIC 13 Bureau. The report will be forwarded to CRIC 14 for further consideration before being submitted to the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12), which will convene in Ankara, Turkey in October 2015.

CRIC 13 convened from 25-27 March 2015, in Bonn, Germany, preceded by meetings of the Regional Implementation Annexes, from 23-24 March. Approximately 200 people, including representatives from governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, attended the meeting. [IISD RS Summary and Analysis] [IISD RS Coverage of CRIC 13] [UNCCD Opening Press Release] [UNCCD Closing Press Release] [UNCCD Press Release on Implementation Reports] [UNCCD CRIC 13 Website] [Land Policy & Practice Story on NAPs in Advance of CRIC 13] [Land Policy & Practice Story on Integrated Investment Frameworks Evaluation]