Summary
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.
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.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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COW contact group on programme and budget
View of the COW contact group on programme and budget waiting for delegates to return from informal consultations
L-R: Patrick Wegerdt, EU, Chair of the COW contact group on programme and budget, in conversation with Randolph Edmead, Saint Kitts and Nevis
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
UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut
COP 13 President Zhang Jianlong
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
COP 13 Snapshots
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
L-R: Frederika Teixeira and Bukuru Melchiade, UNCCD Secretariat
L-R: Gigi Baldovino Gosnell and Mukondi Masithi, South Africa
Postcards of landmarks from Ordos
L-R: ENB team at UNCCD COP 13, Ordos, China, with Guang Yang; Suzi Malan; Kelly Sharp; Jessica Wang; Franz Dejon; Wangu Mwangi; Dina Hestad and Laura Russo