Summary report, 12–13 May 2015

The High-level Event on Follow-up and Review Mechanisms for Natural Resource Management and Governance to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) convened from 12-13 May in New York, US. The event was organized by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Biovision Foundation, and Millennium Institute. Event co-hosts were the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The event built on discussions at the Third Global Soil Week, which took place in April 2015, in Berlin, Germany, and sought to inform UN Member States’ deliberations at the fifth session of the intergovernmental negotiation process on the post-2015 development agenda, which convenes on 18-22 May 2015, in New York, US. The event, attended by 65 representatives of government, permanent missions to the UN, UN agencies, civil society and academia, was designed to bring together knowledge from all regions and actors, to discuss options for and elements of a robust follow-up and review system for natural resource management within the post-2015 development agenda, and its SDGs. Such options could also be developed and applied to other areas of the agenda.

BRIEF HISTORY

UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals: The OWG on SDGs held eight meetings as part ofa stocktaking phase, between March 2013 and February 2014, at UN Headquarters in New York. These meetings were followed by five more sessions during which delegates considered a series of revised documents from co-chairs Macharia Kamau (Kenya) and Csaba Kőrösi (Hungary). A document considered the SDGs’ “zero draft” was issued on 2 June 2014, containing 17 proposed goals and 212 targets. At the conclusion of the 13th session of the OWG, on 19 July 2014, the Group adopted by acclamation a report containing 17 proposed SDGs and 169 targets, and agreed to submit the proposal to the UNGA for consideration and action at its 68th session. The OWG proposal included: four targets referring to soil; Goal 15 on terrestrial ecosystems and the need to combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss; and three targets on “natural resources.”

UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report on Post-2015 Development Agenda: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a report in December 2014 synthesizing several preceding outcomes and inputs on the post-2015 development agenda, and offering proposals on the way forward. In Paragraph 149 the report says “a universal review process […] could be initiated at the national level, and would inform the […] regional, and global level reviews. At all levels, review discussions should be public, participatory, broadly accessible, and based on facts, data, scientific findings, and evidence-based evaluations.” The report further calls for the most significant component of the review process to be a country-led, national component.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATIONS ON THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: The negotiation process on the post-2015 development agenda began holding monthly sessions in January 2015, in New York. The third session, which convened from 23-27 March 2015, focused on: potential revisions to the SDG targets proposed by the OWG; the timeline and roadmap by which the UN Statistical Commission will create an indicator framework; and country experiences in implementing sustainable development.

Global Soil WEEK: The Global Soil Week (GSW) is an initiative of the IASS Global Soil Forum. The First  GSW convened in Berlin, Germany in 2012 as a forum for interactive exchange and dialogue among stakeholders from science, government, business and civil society regarding their land and soil-related experience and expertise, and to develop plans of action for sustainable land/soil management and governance. The meeting initiated follow-up actions on land and soil-related decisions made at the Rio+20 Conference. The Second GSW convened in Berlin in 2013, and discussions were organized around key areas of response to global soil loss: transforming global material and nutrient cycles; upscaling sustainable land management (SLM) and soil engineering at the landscape level; integrating land and soils in the SDGs debate; and responsible land governance. In April 2015, the Third GSW convened in Berlin, on the theme of ‘Soil. The Substance of Transformation.’ The Week included a Dialogue Session on ‘Competing Visions for a Sustainable Future: The challenge of biomass within the post-2015 development agenda.’ Chairs’ conclusions from the meeting included that: ten of the SDGs relate directly or indirectly to soil services; the SDGs must be implemented consistently and take advantage of their transformational potential; and there are many opportunities to integrate soil and water in the post-2015 development agenda.

REPORT OF THE MEETING

On Tuesday, 12 May, moderator Alexander Müller, IASS Acting Secretary-General, opened the meeting. He said the third Global Soil Week, held in Berlin, Germany, in April 2015, had highlighted soils as supporting and underpinning many of the SDGs. Müller also explained that follow-up mechanisms will be needed to ensure implementation of the SDGs, and that identifying such mechanisms is a challenging task. Noting that the SDGs’ universal nature represents a big difference from the MDGs, he said Germany and other countries around the world are wrestling with setting priorities, planning national level implementation, and identifying mechanisms to compare progress, to bring to the HLPF.

OPENING AND SETTING THE SCENE: THE IMPORTANCE OF REVIEWING NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

Fatuma Ndangiza, Chairperson, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), said weak governance institutions lack incentives to manage natural resources for the long term. Under the APRM, Member States are reviewed on four thematic areas: political and democratic governance; economic governance and management; corporate governance; and social-economic development. The review is based on a questionnaire, she said, allowing citizens to tell governments the “bitter facts, what you don’t want to hear.” She compared the process to “inviting someone into your home to investigate every corner – even where you don’t clean – and record it for a public report.” If governments disagree with the report, they can provide an annex, but the report must remain independent, she said, and noted that the findings can serve as an early warning system. She said that the 17 countries who have participated in the review have identified issues pertaining to land, natural resource management, and management of ethnic, religious and gender diversity.

Nikhil Seth, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said “ambition, transformation, universality, engagement and involvement” are key to the post-2015 development agenda, and highlighted that the review process of the agenda should have the same level of engagement as its creation. In establishing the review and follow-up mechanism, he underscored the need to: build on existing institutions; focus on the national level; ensure the process is data-driven; minimize reporting burden; and feature nationally “tailored solutions,” in light of the agenda’s universality. He said the follow-up and review process is likely to be “evolutionary, not revolutionary.”

Jamil Ahmad, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said communities need information on the trade-offs among different development options. He outlined that fulfilling community rights, including timely access to information, and access to both customary and institutional mechanisms, will be crucial to the review of the SDGs. Ahmad called for an integrated approach to implementation, and for building on existing mechanisms for follow-up and review.

Nandhini Krishna, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said that for centuries humanity has “damned the land” without understanding the global consequences. Finally, at Rio+20, governments agreed that land and soil deserved global prioritization, she said, and the OWG report refers to the need to reverse desertification and address land degradation. Krishna also: highlighted the UNCCD’s monitoring mechanisms; said more discussion is needed on the periodicity for reviewing land and soil issues, and the best way to use regional meetings; and stressed that review and monitoring are the key to effective implementation.

Müller said the presentations had highlighted: the need for review to be independent and transparent; a question about addressing cross-cutting issues in review and monitoring processes, as highlighted by the issue of competition over natural resources; that the national level is of utmost importance and countries need tailored solutions; calls to improve and use existing mechanisms; and possible tensions between the participatory approach and basing the review on data.

Questions from participants pertained to: inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in the post-2015 process; worries that language on sustainable tourism is included at the expense of language on Indigenous Peoples and local communities; lack of consensus on gender equality indicators, and implications for an agenda that is supposed to be data-driven; and the need to focus more on land degradation than desertification, as the latter is “the last step, when it is already too late.”

INTERACTIVE PANEL: CURRENT DISCUSSIONS ON THE FOLLOW-UP AND REVIEW AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

Marion Barthelemy, DESA, noted that an architecture, as well as some principles are already emerging on review and follow-up, including that the HLPF will review both implementation and thematic topics. She said the HLPF is “not going to do that alone,” but a network should be built on existing platforms of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other actors’ reporting of progress towards achieving the SDGs. She noted ongoing discussion on: whether the HLPF should only look at the regional reviews, or produce a flagship review; and how these reviews will be prepared and supported. She added the HLPF review should serve as a platform to launch partnerships.

Thomas Forster, EcoAgriculture Partners, brought attention to integrated landscape management (ILM) noting it requires both subnational and international governance. He called for the collection of more geospatial data, but said the socio-economic aspects of sustainable development, which cannot be quantitatively assessed, are equally important. He expressed concern that the proposed SDGs include only one target that calls for urban planning, and that food and landscape planning is omitted.

Layla Saad, Rio+ World Centre for Sustainable Development/UNDP, said the SDG agenda “is the most powerful opportunity to blur the lines of North and South.” She noted that it will be critical to strengthen participation opportunities, to secure citizens’ ownership of the agenda. Saad also underscored that the SDGs must make sense for citizens, in order for it to serve as a basis for action. Responding to comments and questions on partnerships, she commented that “richer countries like to talk about partnerships like we are all equal,” and called for a better distinction between “collaborations” and true “partnerships.”

David O’Connor, DESA, said the SDGs comprise a very closely interlinked agenda, and the goals and targets cannot be reviewed on their own. He also noted that many platforms exist that could review each goal, but we “need to mind the gaps” between the existing platforms. For example, on education (SDG 4) there is no obvious legal or intergovernmental process. He also identified gaps for inter-agency review of SDGs 10 (Reduce inequality within and among countries) and 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns). Responding to comments about the review structure, O’Connor suggested that a high-level panel of both scientists and non-scientists could be tasked with organizing thematic and other reviews.

Kate Donald, Center for Economic and Social Rights, said accountability is not just a means to equitable, sustainable development, but an end in itself, highlighting that a meaningful and participatory accountability system is a human right. She said the system must include a “safeguard,” or back-up to the national level, because robust, participatory monitoring mechanisms will not be realized in all countries. Donald also reflected on the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) Universal Periodic Review as a potential, though imperfect, model, citing strengths including its universality, and three-level reporting process, including a national report from governments, a stakeholder/civil society report compiled by the UN, and a UN agencies report.

In the ensuing question-and-answer session, participants raised: a question of how geospatial data is used in ILM and City Region Food Systems; the need to “leave no one behind” by ensuring resources for the HLPF and other international fora to include marginalized and vulnerable groups; and the need for relying on both quantitative and qualitative indicators. One participant expressed concern about reliance on thematic agencies for the review, because some issues could fall through the gaps, such as land rights.

PRESENTATIONS FROM BREAKOUT GROUPS AND DISCUSSION

On Tuesday afternoon, participants met in smaller groups to address two questions: what are potential strategies for inclusive and integrated review at national level; and, how can linkages be best organized between the review levels, building on existing review mechanisms, so that the national level can support the regional and global levels?

Reporting back to the meeting, the first group said “the elephant in the room is universality,” and the integrated nature of the agenda poses a challenge, as some ideas have different meanings between countries and even within the same country. She stressed the need for “people on the ground and local types of knowledge” to interpret findings, even though this is considered “outside of science.” She also cautioned against “another layer of indicators,” and said institutions must produce clear and easily accessible messages.

The second group identified several steps to strengthen implementation of the post-2015 agenda at country level, including: national surveys of all stakeholders, including the balance of power between them; creating an inter-ministerial coordination agency on the SDGs to ensure integration; and mapping ecosystems’ social and economic impacts on local communities. They suggested using the following measurements to ensure better resource management: ecological footprint, water stress index including use of water renewables, and sustainable production and consumption (SPC) schemes. The group also considered a “soft” international expert panel, similar to the APRM’s governing councils, to identify stakeholders and ensure inclusion of marginalized voices. They expressed support for “leaving no one behind” and suggested identifying the groups for which data should be disaggregated. At the national level, a commission for policy coherence was suggested, to support an integrated review process. Finally, they suggested mapping SDG targets against national sustainable development plans and conducting a nationally driven process to determine needs for external funding.

The third group strongly supported ambitious language on monitoring, review and accountability, and engaging citizens in both planning and review. In addition to “multi-stakeholder” language, the post-2015 outcome text may also need to refer to “rights-holders,” they said. They also noted that the: debate on means of implementation and financing for development (FfD) cannot be delinked from the review debate; need for a back-up mechanism at the regional level, in case the national level does not achieve meaningful participation; and that the regional level is a good forum to address transboundary considerations.

CLOSING REMARKS OF DAY 1

On Tuesday afternoon, Hans Herren, President of Biovision and Millennium Institute, summarized that participants seemed to agree on: the need for greater coordination across the SDGs, especially with regard to natural resources; support for the SDGs, despite their scope and complexity; and being proactive to include the voices of those left behind, which will not automatically happen through multi-stakeholder processes. Herren called for a detailed road map for achieving the 17 goals and 169 targets, which specifies goal posts at five and ten years, how much each segment will cost, and who will be involved throughout. Without this, he said, there is no point in having indicators. Herren also suggested using a template to enable regional, national, global and thematic comparisons, and encouraged HLPF to work on this.

DISCUSSION: REVIEW AND FOLLOW-UP AT GLOBAL, NATIONAL, AND SUBNATIONAL LEVELS

Opening the second day of the workshop on Wednesday 13 May, Ivonne Lobos Alva, Global Soil Forum IASS, said the first day’s discussions had highlighted three themes for further exploration: the value of building on existing mechanisms, such as the APRM; the need for integration to capture cross-cutting issues that do not fit under the SDGs; and the importance of participation in the follow-up and review of the post-2015 development agenda.

In interventions on review and follow-up at global, national, and subnational levels, Junnius Marques Arifa, Federal Court of Accounts, Brazil, discussed monitoring implementation of policies on protected natural areas and soil and water protection. He outlined incorporating measurements and models to provide a comprehensive view of different variables, which helps visualize interlinkages between issues and factors. Most protected areas in Brazil, he said, only implement environmental policies to a moderate degree, and attributed this to the complex legal framework, lack of inter-ministerial coordination, and lack of standardized reporting. He also noted the role of regional reviews in changing the culture of individual governments, by creating pressure for more transparency.

Anna Rappazzo, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), raised three questions: how can the HLPF become the place at the global level where all mechanisms for SDG review can meet?; how can Member States help bring this about in terms of clarifying participation and processes at the HLPF?; and, who sets the criteria for participation and decision-making? Responding to participant comments and questions, Rappazzo cautioned against a division between core and non-core funding, and also questioned whether all UN agencies and programmes involved in implementing the post-2015 agenda need reform.

Chantal Line Carpentier, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), described a compact between governments and their people, in which the UN’s role is to support Member States with their voluntary review, as opposed to compliance and enforcement. The review must be transparent and participatory, she said, noting that civil society is aware of this process, and “there is no going back.” Carpentier also highlighted the value of: subsidiarity; a clear division of labor among agencies; and policy strategies to build synergies across goals and targets. She stressed the need for Member States and the UN system to learn from mistakes before other countries repeat them, and called for “capacity building for policy” in this regard. She also suggested that the global review consider the effects of one country’s policies on other countries.

Gertrude Kenyangi, Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN) Uganda and the Women’s Major Group, shared sub-national experiences. She noted that when poor and vulnerable groups “don’t own the results” of decision-making about natural resource management, sustainability is threatened. Kenyangi said the indicator framework should emphasize equity and address discrimination. Kenyangi also: called for building on the HRC’s review process, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights treaties; urged citizens to combat corruption; and stressed the need to hold the private sector and public-private partnerships (PPPs) accountable through binding corporate accountability mechanisms.

The session was moderated by Henry Tachie-Menson, Deputy Director, Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana.

In the ensuing discussion, participants asked about ensuring accountability of PPPs, and corporate accountability at the global level. One participant highlighted that corruption hampers private sector regulation, and another called for identifying partners to ensure integrated implementation around natural resources.

DISCUSSION OF MESSAGES OF THE EVENT, WITH SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND REFLECTING VIEWS OF THE PARTICIPANTS

Jes Weigelt, Global Soil Forum IASS, introduced the preliminary conclusions of the event on Wednesday afternoon. He said the discussions had identified: strong consensus on the need for an inclusive and participatory follow-up and review process for the post-2015 development agenda; a question of whether to develop a partnership approach for implementation or encourage strong accountability of governments and country-led implementation; the need to complement data-driven follow-up and review with participatory insights; and support for “back-up mechanisms” at the global level, in case national process are not adequately participatory.

Zak Bleicher, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), welcomed the message about the need to strengthen participation in both the policy-formulating and review processes. He called for both vertical and horizontal integration, with more and better inter-ministerial collaboration to implement the post-2015 development agenda, noting the importance of good examples from countries’ experiences in this regard, and underscored the need for varied types of data.

Other participants responded that: accountability and partnership are not necessarily conflicting or separate; interlinkages result not only from cross-cutting issues, but also from the cross-border nature of some issues, such as taxation and trade; social movements, labor unions and NGOs must be better included; data should not be discussed only in binary terms, either qualitative or “complementary;” and national reviews could take place in clusters, such as small island developing States (SIDS) or least developed countries (LDCs), instead of by region.

Alexander Müller elaborated on the points Weigelt had introduced, to be communicated from the workshop to UN Member States’ negotiators on the post-2015 development agenda, and stressed the importance of inclusion. He said other key messages included: a participatory approach that is solution-oriented; both scientific and non-scientific types of knowledge must be considered, along with disaggregated data; the HLPF must be the forum for ensuring coordination between levels of governance, and conducting thematic reviews; the SDGs must not fall back into the silo approach of the current UN architecture, as natural resource management in particular must be addressed in a cross-cutting way; and the need for a decision on whether to link the post-2015 and FfD reviews.

PRESENTATION OF THE DISCUSSION MESSAGES

INPUT PRESENTATION OF OUTCOMES OF THE EVENT:Müller recapped his presentation of the key messages from the discussions, also noting the lack of a global overview of existing review mechanisms, and the lack of consensus on the concepts of accountability and monitoring in multilateral diplomacy, as challenges to more inclusive participation. He also added: what we understand as the SDGs is likely to change from review to review; a participatory processes can be supported by big data, despite “the question of the ownership of big data;” the HLPF will need all possible resources to undertake its synthesising task; developed countries have a “two-tier” challenge with universality – changing their own policies and development plans, and their foreign policies and development assistance; and the need to ensure that the private sector does not only look to short term profit opportunities, but directs capital to the SDGs. Müller also suggested that climate change resources should be integrated into the SDGs.

INTERVENTION BY THOMAS GASS: Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, DESA, recalled an article in The Economist critiquing the SDGs for requiring four percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) to implement them, but said the new agenda is “about the 100%,” especially when considering the dangers posed by climate change. He said: “We need everyone involved, every hand on the deck.” Gass said the post-2015 development agenda reframes the development industry from donor-recipient-oriented to “a vision for humanity.” He noted a lack of appetite for establishing a new, complex institutional architecture, but highlighted opportunities for greater use of big data and soft data at the national and regional levels. On “leaving no one behind,” Gass said the definition of sustainable development has shifted the focus of the development industry from “low-hanging fruit and measuring averages” to justice, governance and access, which means focusing on the most vulnerable. 

INTERVENTION BY GERDA VERBURG:Gerda Verburg, Chair, Committee on World Food Security (CFS), stressed the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, and said incorporating all three dimensions highlights the need for multi-stakeholder inclusion. She described the omission of climate issues and COP 21 by negotiators and stakeholders working on other tracks as a continuation of silo thinking, and said agriculture should be seen as part of the solution to both climate change and food security. She called for: more coherence in country-level governance; more openness from diplomats about interacting with non-state and international organization representatives; and ensuring more concise and easily communicable messages to engage “normal” people. Finally, Verburg said the HLPF should do “naming and faming” to showcase successes of the SDGs.

EXCHANGE AND DISCUSSION WITH PARTICIPANTS AND NEGOTIATORS:In the ensuing interactive discussion, participants raised: a call for more and better rural development; the challenges of multi-stakeholder policy-formulating processes and how well-crafted guidelines for participation, such as those of CFS, could help; the convergence between Müller’s key points with the post-2015 discussion paper on follow-up and review, which had been circulated that day by the co-facilitators of the post-2015 development agenda negotiations; the need for more interaction between diplomats and civil society, and disappointment with the lack of private sector participation in the FfD and post-2015 processes; concern about making resource management “all about agriculture” after Rio+20; and concern about the level of ambitions on forests in the post-2015 development agenda.

CLOSING REMARKS: On Wednesday afternoon, AlexanderMüller closed thehigh-level event stressing the need to learn from CFS about the conditions for successful participation. He said “an open door is not enough,” calling on civil society to ensure effective and ambitious participation.

Müller closed the high-level event at 2:35 pm.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Presentation of Messages from High-level Event: Official Side Event (UNEP-UNCCD-IASS-IFAD-Biovision-Millennium Institute) on ‘Dialogue on Follow-Up and Review Mechanisms for Natural Resource Management and Governance to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. date: 18 May 2015  time: 1:15-2:30 pm  location: UN Headquarters, New York, NY. Conference Building, Conference Room 4

2015 Global Land Forum: The 2015 Global Land Forum, organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC), will take place under the theme “Land governance for inclusive development, justice and sustainability: ‘time for action.’ The event will bring together practitioners, land users, activists, policy makers and researchers from around the world to debate and plan joint action on people-centered land governance with the aim of contributing to broader goals of poverty reduction, food security, environmental sustainability and human well-being within the context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. dates: 11-17 May 2015  location: Dakar, Senegal  contact: ILC Secretariat  phone: +39-06-5459-2445  email: dakar2015@landcoalition.org www: http://www.landcoalition.org/en/node/2490

Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: The fifth session of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda will focus on follow-up and review. dates: 18-22 May 2015  location: UN Headquarters, New York contact: UN Division for Sustainable Development  phone: +1-212-963-8102  fax: +1-212-963-4260  email: dsd@un.org www: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015

Informal Hearings with NGOs, Civil Society, Major Groups and the Private Sector on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: As part of the preparatory process for the September 2015 UN General Assembly Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, two days of stakeholder hearings will be hosted by UNGA President Sam Kutesa and the Co-Facilitators of the post-2015 development agenda negotiations. dates: 26-27 May 2015  location: UN Headquarters, New York  www: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=13&nr=1012&menu=1561

2015 World Day to Combat Desertification: The UNCCD Secretariat has announced that the slogan for the 2015 World Day to Combat Desertification is: ‘No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soils.’ National and global observances will convene under the theme, ‘Attainment of Food Security for All Through Sustainable Food Systems.’ A global observance event will take place in Milan, Italy, during the UN Expo Milano 2015.  date: 17 June 2015  contact: UNCCD Secretariat  phone: +49-228-815-2800  fax: +49-228-815-2898/99  email: secretariat@unccd.int www: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/WDCD/wdcd%202015/Pages/default.aspx

European perspectives on sustainable biomass in the post-2015 development agenda: International Multi-stakeholder Dialogue: This dialogue brings together more than 50 international experts from the public sector, business, civil society and science. It aims to discuss Europe’s opportunities and challenges associated to the task of sustainably governing the increased production and consumption of biomass in and by Europe in the post-2015 development agenda. dates: 29-30 June 2015  location: Brussels, Belgium contact: IASS-Renewable Resources and the Sustainable Development Goals Forum

Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: The intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda will hold the following sessions: 22-25 June, 20-24 July, and 27-31 July (intergovernmental negotiations on the outcome document).  location: UN Headquarters, New York  contact: UN Division for Sustainable Development  phone: +1-212-963-8102  fax: +1-212-963-4260  email: dsd@un.org www: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015

Third Meeting of the High-level Political Forum: The third meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which will take place under the auspices of ECOSOC, will focus on the theme, ‘Strengthening integration, implementation and review – the HLPF after 2015.’ dates: 26 June - 8 July 2015  location: UN Headquarters, New York  contact: UN Division for Sustainable Development  fax: +1-212-963-4260  email: dsd@un.org www: http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1838

Third International Conference on Financing for Development: The Third International Conference on Financing for Development will be held at the highest possible political level, including Heads of State or Government, relevant ministers―ministers for finance, foreign affairs and development cooperation―and other special representatives. The conference will result both in an intergovernmentally negotiated and agreed outcome and summaries of the plenary meetings and other deliberations of the Conference, to be included in the report of the Conference. dates: 13-16 July 2015  location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  contact: UN Financing for Development Office  phone: +1-212-963-4598  email: ffdoffice@un.org www: http://www.un.org/ffd3 

UN Summit to Adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda: The summit is expected to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda, including: a declaration; a set of SDGs, targets, and indicators; their means of implementation and a new Global Partnership for Development; and a framework for follow-up and review of implementation. dates: 25-27 September 2015  location: UN Headquarters, New York  contact: UN Division for Sustainable Development  fax: +1-212-963-4260  email: dsd@un.org www: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/summit

UNCCD COP 12: The 12th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the UNCCD will take place over two weeks in Ankara, Turkey, to take decisions regarding the Convention’s implementation. dates: 12-23 October 2015  location: Ankara, Turkey  contact: UNCCD Secretariat  phone: +49-228-815-2800  fax: +49-288-815-2898/99  email: secretariat@unccd.int www: http://www.unccd.int