Dialogue on Land Degradation Neutrality in Europe and Central Asia

The concept of LDN first emerged from the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012. And the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) defines it as “a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem function and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems”.^[1] To avoid or reduce land degradation, with respect to Sustainable Development Goal 15 - ‘Life on Land’ and its target 15.3, the LDN concept is crucial in encouraging a broad range of measures such as planning, regulation, and sustainable land management (SLM) practices, which need to be integrated into national frameworks.

Of those member countries in the region that set voluntary LDN targets, many neither have a mechanism for monitoring the implementation and achievement towards LDN nor accurate local data on national relevant LDN indicators. In addition, a lack of regulatory and institutional framework has deteriorated land degradation without proper land management. To address these challenges, for instance, FAO has partnered with GEF, a financial mechanism for UNCCD to halt and reverse land degradation. The implementation of projects supports mainstreaming LDN into National Action Programmes (NAPs) aligned with UNCCD’s Strategic Plan, helping member countries to achieve their voluntary LDN targets and recover from DLDD (Desertification, land degradation and drought) and other land-related issues.

Against this background, the workshop aims to raise awareness of the up-to-date LDN situation in the region and discuss with relevant stakeholders current LDN-related issues to identify challenges and opportunities for the upcoming GEF-8 replenishment cycle (2022–2026) and other relevant funds which could be streamed into relevant projects. Moreover, it aims to facilitate consultation and to reinforce the technical capacities of participants by providing online tools to support the LDN debate on indicators, implementation strategies and monitoring mechanisms.

 Objective

• Raise awareness on LDN in the region
• Discuss ways to intensify the action on LDN in the region
• Present and discuss a Decision support system (DSS) for the region
• Increase technical capacity on LDN among FAO CO and governmental staff
• Provide guidance on the DSS for the region

Language

The workshop will be held in English. Simultaneous interpretation will be available in Russian and Turkish.

Target audience

• UNCCD focal points
• Directors from the ministries responsible for LDN
• Technical staff from ministries of agriculture and environment involved in LDN
• Technical staff involved with the implementation of LDN projects
• Academia and researchers involved with LDN
• Civil society organizations

 Methoodology and Programme

The workshop will be organized online and will be split into 2 days. The first day will be a high-level discussion focusing on the political commitments on LDN for the region and the second day will focus on the technical aspects of LDN and the next steps to strengthen the regional process and share knowledge among countries and stakeholders.