Unlike the climate change conference concluded last Nov (2013) in Warsaw, the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in September generated few headlines. Yet the stories of the two processes are inextricably linked. As momentum towards a post-2015 development framework continues to accelerate, we would be well advised to revisit the relationship between climate change and desertification because, without protecting land and soils, all the best laid plans for coping with climate change will literally be swept from under our feet.

1. Building on a Firm Foundation: Land and Soils in the Post-2015 Development
Agenda
by: Luc Gnacadja, Former Executive Secretary, UNCCD
posted on: Wednesday, December 11th, 2013
http://land-l.iisd.org/guest-articles/building-on-a-firm-foundation-land-and-soils-in-the-post-2015-development-agenda/
Unlike
the
recently
concluded
climate
change
conference
in
Warsaw,
the
11th
session
of
the
Conference
of
the
Parties
(COP
11)
to
the
UN
Convention
to
Combat
Desertification
(UNCCD)
in
September
generated
few
headlines.
Yet
the
stories
of
the
two
processes
are
inextricably
linked.
As
momentum
towards
a
post-­‐2015
development
framework
continues
to
accelerate,
we
would
be
well
advised
to
revisit
the
relationship
between
climate
change
and
desertification
because,
without
protecting
land
and
soils,
all
the
best
laid
plans
for
coping
with
climate
change
will
literally
be
swept
from
under
our
feet.
Prior
to
COP
11,
which
also
marked
my
last
COP
as
UNCCD
Executive
Secretary,
we
marked
two
important
milestones.
The
first
was
the
inclusion
of
the
vision
of
striving
towards
a
land-­‐degradation
neutral
world
(LDNW)
in
the
Rio+20
outcome
document.
LDNW
requires
all
countries
to
prevent
or
avoid
the
degradation
of
healthy
and
productive
lands
through
sustainable
land
management
practices
and,
where
feasible,
regenerate
land
that
is
already
degraded.
The
aim
of
course
is
to
restore
more
than
we
degrade;
therefore,
this
vision
calls
for
a
goal
and
targets
in
order
to
reach,
as
soon
as
possible,
the
break-­‐even
point
between
degradation
and
restoration.
The
second
achievement
was
the
broad
consensus
that
was
reached
during
the
High-­‐Level
meeting
on
National
Drought
Policy,
which
convened
in
Geneva
in
February
2013,
calling
on
all
drought-­‐prone
countries
to
move
away
from
crisis
management
towards
preparedness
and
disaster
risk
management.
At
COP
11,
a
key
area
of
debate
was
whether
the
scope
for
LDNW
and
its
related
goal,
targets
and
legal
instrument
should
be
restricted
to
drylands.
In
order
to
move
forward
on
this
issue
in
the
context
of
the
“The
Future
We
Want”
parties
decided
to
set
up
an
Intergovernmental
Working
Group,
whose
core
task
is
to
develop
options
for
achieving
land-­‐degradation
neutrality.
I
expect
this
discussion
will
also
include
proposing
practical
targets
for
countries,
with
a
strong
monitoring
component.
However,
for
a
LDNW
to
become
reality,
the
aspirations
expressed
in
the
five
paragraphs
(205–209)
of
the
Rio+20
outcome
document,
relating
to
drought,
land
degradation
and
desertification
(DLDD),
need
to
be
incorporated
in
the
broader
set
of
goals
and
actions
that
will
emerge
from
the
post-­‐2015
process.
Linking
land
and
soils
to
other
sustainable
development
goals
The
Rio+20
outcome
document
recognizes
the
economic
and
social
significance
of
good
land
management,
including
soil,
to
“economic
growth,
biodiversity,
sustainable
agriculture
and
food
security,
eradicating
poverty,
women's
empowerment,
addressing
climate
change
and
improving
water
availability.”

2. The
landscape
is
the
appropriate
scale
where
synergies
and
tradeoffs
in
making
policy
decisions
and
investments
on
each
of
those
eight
avenues
can
be
best
assessed,
as
well
as
options
for
transforming
tradeoffs
into
synergies
whenever
possible.
Many
have
therefore
called
for
a
stand-­‐alone
goal
as
a
way
to
promote
land
stewardship
in
the
nexus
of
the
sustainable
development
challenges
that
we
face.
However,
giving
land
its
right
place
in
this
nexus
requires
overcoming
the
prevailing
culture
that
sees
nothing
wrong
in
sealing
off
precious
soil
through
urbanization,
or
dismissing
degraded
land
as
worthless.
The
Rio+20
outcome
document
provides
us
with
a
strong
rationale
for
making
this
paradigm
shift:
seeing
degraded
lands
as
scarce
but
underperforming
assets
that
need
investments
in
order
to
bring
them
back
to
suitable
productivity.
In
particular,
Paragraph
205
acknowledges
that
DLDD
is
hampering
the
sustainable
development
of
all
nations
of
the
world
and
Paragraph
207
notes
“…
the
importance
of
mitigating
the
effects
of
desertification,
land
degradation
and
drought,
including
by
preserving
and
developing
oases,
restoring
degraded
lands,
improving
soil
quality
and
improving
water
management.”
The
following
diagram
illustrates
how
such
a
paradigm
shift
could
yield
benefits
across
eight
key
policy
avenues.
Making
it
happen:
first
steps
By
approving
the
establishment
of
a
new
Science-­‐Policy
Interface,
and
advancing
its
iterative
participatory
process
to
refine
impact
indicators
and
monitor
progress,
the
UNCCD
has
put
in
place
the
infrastructure
for
setting
realistic
targets
for
LDNW
and
linking
land
targets
to
the
other
SDGs.
The
4th
Special
Session
of
the
UNCCD
Committee
on
Science
and
Technology
and
the
UNCCD
3rd
Scientific
Conference,
both
due
to
take

3. place
in
early
2015,
will
provide
an
important
opportunity
to
assess
how
far
we've
come
in
understanding
the
links
between
DLDD,
poverty
reduction
and
sustainable
development.
The
preparatory
process
for
these
events
could
well
serve
as
a
test
run
for
linking
the
UNCCD
agenda
and
more
target-­‐setting
processes
in
the
two
other
Rio
Conventions.
With
the
“silo
mindset”
that
often
prevails
over
intergovernmental
negotiations,
I
am
aware
that
competition
is
quite
fierce
among
sectors
regarding
possible
SDGs.
For
the
goals
to
be
universal
and
also
address
issues
of
poverty
and
resilience
in
an
increasingly
globalized
world,
they
should
also
aim
at
preserving
the
natural
capital
on
which
we
all
depend.
I
still
wonder
why
the
world
is
so
slow
to
act
upon
the
fact
that
eradicating
rural
poverty,
and
ensuring
sustainable
food,
water
and
bio-­‐energy
security
to
the
rural
poor
while
building
their
resilience
to
climatic
shocks
is
about
avoiding
the
degradation
and/or
ensuring
the
restoration
of
their
degraded
land
assets.
It
is
my
hope
that
the
process
towards
a
post-­‐2015
global
development
framework
will
not
be
a
missed
opportunity
to
take,
once
and
for
all,
land
out
of
the
international
community's
blind
spot.