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The thirteenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 13) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened on 25 March 2015, following two days of regional meetings. Philbert Brown (Jamaica), CRIC Chair, welcomed delegates and, recalling recent concerns that the CRIC is losing its relevance, he noted that participation in the regional meetings preceding CRIC 13 and the high number of national reports submitted to CRIC 13 confirm UNCCD Parties’ continued interest in the CRIC. He invited Parties to work in the coming 72 hours to ensure that CRIC 13 will move the UNCCD forward. He called for targeted, actionable and measurable recommendations, and stressed the need to take into consideration the ongoing post-2015 development agenda negotiations, in particular the target on achieving land degradation neutrality.
Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said the shorter duration of CRIC 13 represents, in part, the approach to increase the Secretariat’s efficiency. She welcomed the high number of national reports submitted to CRIC 13, but regretted that a reliable picture of land degradation still cannot be obtained from national reports and asked whether the reporting process is adequately addressing the Convention's objectives. She suggested that national reporting should focus on information that help understand land degradation and convince donors to increase financing by showing the importance of sustainable land management for climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this regard, she said work is underway to develop common indicators with the UNFCCC and the CBD. She noted that in the event of the adoption of the land degradation neutrality objective in the post-2015 agenda, the UNCCD could become a driver for the implementation of the SDGs and that land degradation neutrality could be a tangible national objective. CRIC 13 delegates proceeded to adopt the agenda, and discussed matters related to the agenda item on “Assessment of implementation of the Convention.”
Also on 25 March 2015, Lütfi Akça, Undersecretary, Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, Turkey, signed an agreement to host the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 12), which will take place in October 2015, in Ankara, Turkey. Akça also highlighted that Turkey will launch the Ankara Initiative during COP 12, and that the SLM Business Forum will convene during the COP.
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