What is the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)?
On a global plane, the issue of desertification was first discussed at the UN Conference on Desertification held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1977. But due to a lack of support, both administrative and financial, attempts to efficiently tackle the problem of desertification were crippled. Therefore in 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or so called Rio Earth Summit recommended the elaboration of a United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Convention, the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Conference's Agenda 21, was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in December 1996. It is the first and only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification. The Convention is based on the principles of participation, partnership and decentralization - the backbone of Good Governance. It now has more than 180 country Parties to the Convention, making it truly global in reach. Learn more.
Peace Forest Initiative
The Peace Forest Initiative (PFI) is a flagship programme of the UNCCD that demonstrates crucial linkages between land, peace and security. It is designed to address restoration of ecosystems and land-based resources including land, soil, water and forests in fragile and conflict-affected locations.
The PFI brings together stakeholders to catalyse transboundary cooperation on ecosystem restoration to build trust and peace. It unites communities across national borders to co-manage shared land resources and ecosystems for a peaceful future. The concept was inspired by early success stories of environmental peace building showcased at the first Global Land Degradation Neutrality Forum in 2018. Following initial consultations, PFI has been launched in 2019 with the support of UNCCD country Parties to assist countries affected by fragility or conflict through cooperation with their neighbors to rehabilitate and restore degraded land, soil, water and forests.
Objectives and next steps
The PFI provides a collaborative and inclusive platform for communities and other stakeholders in cross-border settings to co-design activities that conserve, restore and manage environment and natural resources as a shared asset. These activities are envisioned to contribute to increased resilience, peace and sustainable development.
A key goal of the PFI is to engage a broad range of stakeholders to identify and formulate potential entry points for the initiative. Through regional consultations with local actors and experts, the entry points are framed into a “PFI package” of initial activities to foster further cross-border confidence through stakeholder coordination, dialogue and training sessions. The ultimate goal is to develop bankable projects with long-term restoration and peace building objectives and boost resilience of local communities to environmental challenges while securing vital ecosystem services.
The UNCCD Secretariat will provide countries with technical support and seed funding to plan and mobilize resources for large-scale restoration and peace building activities based on the PFI principles. The full-scale project implementation will contribute to the agreed Land Degradation Neutrality or other restoration goals and outcomes.
The Global Mechanism of UNCCD recently completed an initial mapping of potential PFI sites and identified 17 locations involving 44 countries for the PFI activities. The Global Mechanism will continue collaborating with partners and parties to plant the seeds of peace and trust, facilitating the implementation of the PFI in various locations.
