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Following two weeks of high-level discussions and negotiations, delegates adopted 38 decisions to improve drought resilience, reduce land degradation, invest in land restoration efforts, and improve synergies with the climate change and biodiversity conventions.
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Summary report 9–20 May 2022
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The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 15) brought together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders to drive progress in the sustainable management of land—the bedrock of a healthy, productive planet.
Convening under the theme “Land, Life, Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity,” COP 15 marked a key moment in the fight against desertification, land degradation, and drought. It built on the findings of the second edition of the Global Land Outlook and offered a concrete response to the interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss.
Top items on COP 15’s agenda included drought, land restoration, and related enablers such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment. COP 15 will also consider:
- links between land and other key sustainability issues;
- the recommendations of the intergovernmental working group who was created during COP 14 to consider effective policy and implementation measures of a drought policy framework;
- progress made in the work programmes of new themes agreed at COP 13, such as land tenure, as well as the implementation of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030); and
- its budget and work programme.
The COP was established by the Convention as its main decision-making body. It is made up of governments and the European Union and is responsible for guiding the Convention so that it can respond to global challenges and national needs. The COP is mandated to review reports submitted by the parties detailing how they are carrying out their land degradation neutrality commitments and make recommendations on the basis of these reports. It also has the power to amend the Convention or to adopt new annexes. The COP has been meeting biennially since 2001.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, COP 15 was postponed from its intended dates in September 2021. Instead, the 2nd Extraordinary Session of the UNCCD COP gathered participants in a special virtual session during December 2021 where the interim programme and budget was adopted in preparation for COP 15. This decision allowed the continuation of the Convention and its Secretariat.
UNCCD COP 15 met in person (with virtual streaming of all official sessions) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022. A high-level segment took place on 9-10 May 2022, including a Heads of States Summit, high-level roundtables and interactive dialogue sessions, as well as numerous other special and side events.
View past and future events
Past event
Organizational Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification
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1st Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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2nd Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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1993 Year-end Update of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification
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3rd Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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4th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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5th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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UN General Assembly Discussions on UNCCD
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1994 Year-end Update of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification
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6th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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7th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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1995 Year-end Update of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification
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8th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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9th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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10th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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Resumed 10th Session of the of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Convention to Combat Desertification
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UNCCD COP 1
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UNCCD COP 2
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UNCCD COP 3
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UNCCD COP 4
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UNCCD COP 5
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UNCCD CRIC 1
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UNCCD COP 6
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Workshop on "Forests and Forest Ecosystems: Promoting Synergy in the Implementation of the Three Rio Conventions"
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UNCCD CRIC 3
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UNCCD COP 7
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UNCCD CRIC 5
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UNCCD COP 8
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1st Extraordinary Session of the Conference of the Parties (ExCOP) to the UNCCD
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High-level Policy Dialogue “Coping with Today’s Global Challenges in the Context of the UNCCD Strategy”
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UNCCD CRIC 7 and 1st Special Session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-1)
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UNCCD COP 9
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UNCCD CRIC 9 and 2nd Special Session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-2)
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UNCCD COP 10
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3rd Special Session of the UNCCD Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-3)
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11th Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 11) of the UNCCD
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11th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 11)
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4th Special Session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-4) and UNCCD 3rd Scientific Conference
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13th Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 13) to the UNCCD
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12th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 12)
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15th Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 15) to the UNCCD
Past event
13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 13)
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17th Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 17) to the UNCCD
Past event
14th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 14)
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19th Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 19) of the UNCCD
Past event
2nd Extraordinary Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD
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15th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 15)
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21st Session of the UNCCD Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC-21)
Past event
16th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 16)
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For UNCCD COP 15, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth.
