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13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 13)

6-16 September 2017 | Ordos, China

Summary Highlights of the Meeting

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Delegates from the Committee of the Whole (COW) contact group on programme and budget in an informal
consultation

UNCCD COP 13 delegates worked in two contact groups of the Conference of the Whole (COW), on budget and on other matters, throughout the morning and lunchtime on Friday, 15 September, to complete their negotiations. The final meetings of the COW convened at 4:30 pm to review the draft decisions from these contact groups, with a view to recommending them for adoption during a COP plenary session. After adoption of the COW draft decisions, a COP plenary session followed, during which the COP adopted 15 COW decisions, and nine COP decisions.

During the closing session, COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong encouraged the youth to take action to combat desertification in the future. UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut affirmed that COP 13 took bold steps for the Convention, which now had a clear, action-oriented path forward. She summarized the new initiatives established during COP 13, including on drought, migration, gender, and sand and dust storms, as well as the launching of the LDN Fund and Global Land Outlook. Zhang Jianlong gaveled COP 13 to a close at 6:45 pm.

+ Visit the web coverage for Friday, 15 September 2017

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the UNCCD COP 13. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.

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Committee of the Whole (COW)

Interim Chair Skumsa Mancotywa, South Africa, standing in for COW Chair Nosipho Ngcaba, South Africa, resumed the COW proceedings

Luís Constantino, Angola, Chair of the COW contact group on other matters

Delegates on their way to the COW contact group on other matters

Helge Elisabeth Zeitler, EU

Christine Dawson, US


Interim COW Chair Skumsa Mancotywa, gaveled the COW to a close at 5:31 pm

Conference of the Parties (COP)

L-R: Jia Xiaoxia, China, on behalf of the COP 13 President; Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat; and Rajeb Boulharouf, Chef de Cabinet, UNCCD Secretariat

COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong, delivering his closing statement


UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut

COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong

UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut, delivering her closing speech



Trevor Benn, Rapporteur

COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong, gaveled the meeting to a close at 6:45 pm

UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut, congratulating COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong

UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut, and delegates from the EU

Delegates from the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), with a delegate from Algeria

Participants from civil society organizations, local staff and UNCCD secretariat


Highlights for Thursday, 14 September 2017

On Thursday, 14 September, UNCCD COP 13 delegates convened in a morning plenary of the COP and adopted: a decision on the credentials of delegations, as well as the reports of the Committee on the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) and the Committee on Science and Technology (CST).

The Committee of the Whole (COW) contact groups on budget and on other matters met throughout the day and into the evening to consider draft decisions on, among others: Terms of Reference for the CRIC; the future Strategic Framework; policy advocacy on drought; and synergies with other Conventions.

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L-R: CRIC Chair Aliyu Bananda; CST Chair Hamid Čustović; Pradeep Monga, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary; and Jia Xiaoxia, China, on behalf of the COP 13 President

CST Chair Hamid Čustović

CRIC Chair Aliyu Bananda

L-R: Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat, and Rajeb Boulharouf, Chef de Cabinet, UNCCD Secretariat

L-R: Cindy Ehmes, Micronesia; Atelaite Matoto, Tonga; and Carmel Jonduo, Papua New Guinea

Guang Yang, ENB/IISD, distributing ENB dailies to delegates from Burkina Faso

UNCCD COP 13 registration team


Highlights for Wednesday, 13 September 2017

On Wednesday, 13 September, UNCCD COP 13 delegates convened in a morning plenary meeting of the COW to consider: implementation of the comprehensive communication strategy and the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (2010-2020); promotion and strengthening of relationships with other relevant conventions and international organizations, institutions and agencies; participation and involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector in meetings and processes of the UNCCD; and the business engagement strategy.

In the afternoon, the CRIC adopted six draft decisions on: development and implementation of strategies through national action programmes to achieve the objectives of the Convention in light of target 15.3 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Convention; collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF); and two draft decisions on procedural matters. COW contact groups on the budget and on other matters met during the day and late into the evening.

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Marcos Montoiro, UNCCD Secretariat, consulting with participants from CSOs

COW Chair Nosipho Ngcaba

Sophiko Akhobadze, Executive Director, Regional Environmental Center for the Caucasus, Georgia, making a statement on behalf of the CSO Panel

Bariş Karapinar, Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, making a statement on behalf of the CSO Panel

CSO participants at the COW session

Britta Hackenberg, Namibia

Marioldy Sánchez Santivañez, Asociación para la Investigación y Desarrollo Integral (AIDER), Peru

L-R: Sabine Sakr, UNCCD Secretariat; CRIC Chair Aliyu Bananda; and June Budhooram, Secretary

L-R: Nelson Jossamo; Mario Custódio; and Armindo Cambule, Mozambique

L-R: Melissa Cotterill, Australia, with Marcus Davies and Bob Turnock, Canada


Highlights for Tuesday, 12 September 2017

On Tuesday, 12 September, COP 13 delegates participated in dialogues on gender and land rights, the role of local governments in addressing the challenges of land degradation, and the role of the private sector in helping achievement of land degradation neutrality. These dialogues were the final substantive sessions of the two-day High-Level Segment. In the morning, the inaugural edition of the UNCCD’s Global Land Outlook took place, while in the evening a ceremony to launch the LDN Fund occured, following the close of the High-Level Segment. COW contact groups also continued to convene, with informal discussions taking place throughout the day.

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L-R: Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, presenting COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong with a
Certificate of Excellence for his work on combating desertification

L-R: Marcos Montoiro, UNCCD Secretariat, with Moderator of the session, Barbara Thomson, Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa

Ana Di Pangracio, Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, M'Boro Indigenous Women and People Association, Chad

Shah Abdus Salam, Development Wheel

Ulrich Apel, the Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Zhang Kebin, China

Jennifer MacIntyre, Ambassador for Climate Change, Canada

Adrián León, Venezuela

Ulambayar Tungalag, Mongolia

Fatoumata Cherif, Women, Power and Development, Guinea

L-R: Ahmed Aziz Diallo, Mayor of Dori, Burkina Faso; Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of Bonn, Germany; and Shi Yanjie, Vice Mayor of Ordos, China

Abdoulaye Couliboly, Mali

Judith Marinissen, EU

Meas Pyseth, Cambodia

L-R: Sam Contreras and Angel Enriquez, the Philippines

L-R: Simone Quatrini, Global Mechanism (GM); Philippe Zaouati, CEO, MIROVA; and Wang Wenbiao, Chairman, Elion Resources Group, China

Matthew Reddy, Director, Forest Solutions Group and Climate Smart Agriculture, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD)

Gloverson Moro, Head of R&D Asia-Pacific, Syngenta

Edward Chomba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, Zambia

Nathalie van Haren, Both ENDS, the Netherlands

Pierre Hele, Minister of Environment Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development, Cameroon

L-R: Erik Grigoryan and Ashot Vardevanyan, Armenia


Highlights for Monday, 11 September 2017

On Monday, 11 September, UNCCD COP 13 delegates gathered for the High-Level Segment. Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China, delivered the message sent by Xi Jinping, President of China and presented a keynote speech, following which the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and other dignitaries addressed delegates. Three parallel roundtables were held during the afternoon, addressing the following themes: Land degradation: A challenge to development, prosperity and peace; Drought and sand and dust storms: Early warning and beyond; and Land degradation neutrality: “From targets to action…what will it take?” A Business Forum also took place.

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L-R: Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, with Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China

L-R: Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary; Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China; and Zhang Jianlong, President of COP 13

Zhang Jianlong, President of COP 13

Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary

Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China

Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China, delivers the message by Xi Jinping, President of China, and gives his keynote speech

Video message by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Naoko Ishii, CEO, Global Environment Facility (GEF)

María Victoria Chiriboga, Undersecretary of Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Ecuador

Lína Pohl, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, El Salvador

Liu Yang, Youth Representative, China

Rawea Mizel Mahmood, General Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Desertification, Iraq

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, M'Boro Indigenous Women and People Association, Chad

L-R: Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); Catalina Santamaria, CBD Secretariat; and Cai Lijie, CBD Secretariat

Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China

L-R: Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, and Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China, visiting the China Exhibition on Combating Desertification


Highlights for Saturday, 9 September 2017

In the morning, UNCCD COP 13 participants convened in plenary for a dialogue with civil society organizations (CSOs), focused on the theme, “Land and Climate,” and in the afternoon the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) met in plenary and forwarded six decisions to the COP. Contact groups met throughout the day to discuss draft decisions related to the COP, the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) and CST agendas.

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Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, delivering her statement to the CSO Open Dialogue Session

Liu Fangfei, Anchor, China Central Television, Moderator

Bariş Karapinar, Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC)


COP 13 participants showing the "The Green Handkerchief Initiative" sign

L-R: Sophiko Akhobadze, Executive Director, Regional Environmental Center for the Caucasus, Georgia; Ahmed Sékou Diallo, Executive Director, Association de Formation et d’Appui au Développement (AFAD), Mali; Vũ Thi Bích Hợp, Executive Director, Center for Sustainable Rural Development, Vietnam; and Bariş Karapinar, Lead Author, IPCC


Yoko Watanabe, Global Manager, Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, M'Boro Indigenous Women and People Association, Chad

Participants from the CSO Open Dialogue showing the "The Green Handkerchief Initiative" sign

L-R: Victor Castillo, UNCCD Secretariat; Hamid Čustović, Bosnia and Herzegovina, CST Chair; Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat; and Rajeb Boulharouf, Chef de Cabinet, UNCCD Secretariat

Murukesan Krishnapillai, Micronesia

Flavia Witkowski Frangetto, Brazil

Pablo Viegas Aurelio, Argentina

Participants at the afternoon session of the CST


Highlights for Friday, 8 September 2017

In the morning, UNCCD COP 13 participants reconvened in parallel sessions of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) to discuss agenda items, with the COW meeting in plenary in the afternoon. Negotiations in contact groups continued on draft decisions related to the COP, CRIC and CST agendas. A Youth Forum was held throughout the day.

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L-R: Marcus Davies, Canada, in a conversation with Barbara De Rosa-Joynt, US

UNCCD COP 13 commemorative postal stamps and envelopes

Richard Thomas, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Wafa Essahli, Environmental Information for Sustainable Development for Enhanced Management

Mohammed Alzuhairi, Iraq

Kulov Kubanychbek, Kyrgyzstan

Nina Ingrid Vik, Norway

Jorge Luis García, Mexico

Aliyu Bananda, Nigeria, CRIC Chair


Chizuru Aoki, Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Sven Walter, Global Mechanism (GM)

Mohammad Azizul Haque, Bangladesh

Dominga Polanco, Dominican Republic

Puta Tofinga, Kiribati

Nosipho Ngcaba, COW Chair, convenes the afternoon session of the COW

L-R: Abdourahamane Mariama, Noura Fatchima, Boubacar Zalia Yacouba, Niger


Highlights for Thursday, 7 September 2017

UNCCD COP 13 participants reconvened during parallel morning and afternoon sessions, and discussed agenda items in the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC). Contact groups met in the afternoon and evening to discuss draft decisions related to the COP, CRIC and CST agendas.

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L-R: Jean-Marc Sinnassamy, GEF Secretariat, in a discussion with André Alla, Côte d'Ivoire, and Prosper Kayembe, Democratic Republic of the Congo

L-R: Hamid Čustović, Bosnia and Herzegovina, CST Chair, and Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat

Fortunée Worou, Benin

Mustafa Abdullah Yurtoglu, Turkey

María Angelica Fernandez, Colombia

Luca Montanarella, Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS)

Mariam Akhtar-Schuster, Science-Policy Interface (SPI)

Jeff Herrick, US

Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)


Aliyu Bananda, Nigeria, CRIC Chair


Satu Ravola, UNCCD Secretariat

Markus Repnik, Managing Director, Global Mechanism (GM)

Biyana Kilibarda, Montenegro

Louisa Karika, Cook Islands

Abdu Al Assiri, Saudi Arabia

Jozef Buys, EU

Imad Almaree, Syria

L-R: Jozef Buys, EU, in a conversation with Barbara De Rosa-Joynt and Jeff Herrick, US

Kelly Sharp, ENB/IISD, tries her hand at block printing


Fatiha Sallahi, UNCCD Secretariat, with her team of local staff


Highlights for Wednesday, 6 September 2017

The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 13) opened in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, on Wednesday morning, 6 September. Cemal Noğay, on behalf of COP 12 President Veysel Eroğlu, Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs, Turkey, opened COP 13 and highlighted the food security, biodiversity and climate change co-benefits of combating land degradation especially for the rural poor. Delegates then elected Zhang Jianlong, Minister of State Forestry Administration, China, as COP 13 President. Bu Xiaolin, Chair, Inner Mongolia People’s Government, highlighted the achievements of Inner Mongolia in combating desertification in recent years. Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, expressed fears that the window of opportunity created from aligning the Convention with the 2030 Agenda is limited and that expectations are “huge,” therefore efforts at this COP and thereafter need to focus on implementation, and translating the LDN targets into action. She outlined COP 13 needs to take decisions on issues that have not been dealt with, including on drought and sand storms, gender, land tenure security, and acceleration of knowledge and strategic communication.

The China Exhibition on Desertification was opened after the morning plenary. In the afternoon, delegates established a Committee of the Whole and considered organizational matters and the programme and budget, among others, while the Committee on Science and Technology (CST), after an opening plenary, considered the scientific conceptual framework for land degradation neutrality, among others.

In the evening, delegates attended a reception by the host country, and a contact group met on matters related to the CST.

+ Visit the web coverage for Wednesday, 6 September 2017

L-R: Zhang Jianlong, Minister, State Forestry Administration, China accepting the COP13 Presidency
from Cemal Noğay, on behalf of COP 12 President

Colorful topiary greeted COP 13 participants as they walk through the entrance of the Ordos International Convention and Exhibition Center

Cemal Noğay, Deputy Undersecretary, Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, Turkey, on behalf of the President of COP 12

Zhang Jianlong, President of COP13

Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary

Bu Xiaolin, Governor, Inner Mongolia, China

View of the plenary with Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, making her opening address

María Florencia Grimalt, Argentina

Taimar Ala, EU

Karma Dema Dorji, Bhutan

Andrés David Córdova, Ecuador

Jiajia Luo, China Green Foundation

Kennedy Ondimu, Kenya

Anna Luise, Italy

Postcards of landmarks from Ordos







Web Coverage — About | 6 Sep | 7 Sep | 8 Sep | 9 Sep | 11 Sep | 12 Sep | 13 Sep | 14 Sep | 15 Sep | Summary
Specific funding for coverage of UNCCD COP 13 has been provided by the People’s Republic of China
People’s Republic of China

IISD Reporting Services is grateful to the many donors of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) and recognizes the following as core contributors to the ENB: the European Union and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. General Support for the Bulletin during 2017 is provided by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, Japanese Ministry of Environment (through the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies - IGES), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Switzerland (Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)), and SWAN International. Specific funding for coverage of this meeting has been provided by the People’s Republic of China. Funding for translation of the Bulletin into French has been provided by the Government of France, Québec, and the International Organization of La Francophonie/Institute for Sustainable Development of La Francophonie (IOF/IFDD).

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