Central and Eastern Europe

The fifteenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 15) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened on Tuesday, 18 October 2016, at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi. CRIC Vice-Chair Raymond Baptiste (Grenada) and Charles Sunkuli, Principal Secretary, State Department of Environment and Regional Development Authorities, Kenya, delivered welcoming statements. Pan Yingzhen, Director-General, National Bureau to Combat Desertification in the State Forestry Administration and UNCCD National Focal Point, China, announced that China will host the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UNCCD in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, in 2017. She presented a short film highlighting successful land restoration efforts in the region, which she described as the pearl of north China and “the epitome of our efforts to combat desertification.” Ali Riza Diniz, Deputy Undersecretary, Ministry for Forestry and Water Affairs, Turkey, on behalf of COP 12 President, remarked on the sharp rise in countries committing to set land degradation neutrality (LDN) targets, from 14 to 102 during the past year alone, and noted that this reflected the collective determination to reverse land degradation and desertification. He expressed Turkey’s commitment to put people at the center of decision-making processes in realizing the Ankara Initiative. Alluding to a Kenyan saying that the quality of the ground determines the quality of the tree, UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut called upon CRIC delegates to prepare a fertile ground for decisions at UNCCD COP 13 next year. She said LDN should be reflected in the new UNCCD strategy to be adopted at COP 13, and CRIC 15 should address outstanding issues on LDN. Representatives of the five UNCCD regional implementation annexes presented brief statements. Following statements by various regional and interest groups as well as civil society representatives in the afternoon, two interactive dialogue sessions took place. The first session discussed country experiences from 26 countries that had submitted reports in the optional reporting exercise. In the second interactive plenary session, panelists and country representatives exchanged experiences, knowledge and joint learning from the LDN Target Setting Programme. The session highlighted opportunities that the LDN target setting process provides for: fostering coherence of national policies, actions and commitments; moving from pilots to scale; and raising funds, through blended finance packages. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates from UNCCD CRIC 15. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting which is available in HTML and PDF. Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary Barron Orr, Science-Policy Interface (SPI) Pamela Chasek, Associate, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and Professor, Manhattan College Anna Luise, Italy, on behalf of the Northern Mediterranean region and Annex IV countries Ashot Vardevanyan, Armenia, on behalf of Central and Eastern Europe and the Annex V countries

IUCN members convened in plenary for the 4th sitting of the Congress on Wednesday morning to continue discussing issues of strategic importance for the Union. Members also considered how the IUCN should address the challenge of building constituencies for nature. The Chairs of the respective IUCN Commissions then delivered their reports. In the 5th sitting in the afternoon, IUCN introduced the Regional Councillor candidates from the eight regional panel discussions, and invited candidates from each region to respond to two questions: what critical issues are currently facing IUCN and what role the Council should play in addressing them; and how they would make IUCN more relevant in their respective region. Members were then invited to vote for 28 Councillor seats, before approving the mandates of the IUCN Commission 2017-2020 and hearing the report of the meeting of all recognized National and Regional Committees, held on 1 September 2016. Members voted in favor of the motion on strengthening corporate biodiversity measurement, valuation and reporting. Contact groups met throughout the day to advance deliberations on Motions, including on: incorporating urban dimensions of conservation into IUCN's work; protection of primary forests, including intact forest landscapes; IUCN’s response to the Paris Climate Change Agreement; and taking greater account of the ocean in the climate regime. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has produced daily reports, daily web coverage, summary videos from the Forum and the Members Assembly, as well as a summary report from the IUCN Congress 2016, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page 4th Sitting of the Members’ Assembly View of the dais during the 4th sitting of the Members' Assembly Simon Stuart, Species Survival Commission, IUCN Michael Wilson, Election Officer, IUCN John Robinson, Councillor for North America and Vice President, IUCN Rossana Berrini, Ministry of Housing, Land Planning and Environment, Uruguay Cath Wallace, Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand Gloria Ujor, Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team Om Sophana, Mlup Baitong Organization Panel speakers discussing issues of strategic importance for IUCN - building constituencies for nature Miguel Pellerano, Regional Councillor for Meso and South America, IUCN Margaret Otieno, Wildlife Clubs, Kenya Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Vice-President, IUCN Nizar Hani, Lead Advisor, Ministry of Envrionment, Lebanon Kobie Brand, Regional Director, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability Ramiro Batzin, Indigenous Sotzil of Guatemala Roberto Vides-Almonacid, Regional Vice Chair, Latin America, IUCN Delegates during the meeting Zhang Xinsheng, President, IUCN Piet Wit, Chair, Commission on Ecosystem Management, IUCN Kathleen MacKinnon, Chair, World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), IUCN Antonio Herman Benjamin, Chair, Commission on Environmental Law (CEL), IUCN Aroha Mead, Chair, Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), IUCN Nancy Colleton, Chair, Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), IUCN 5th Sitting of the Members’ Assembly Regional Councillor candidates from the African Region Regional Councillor candidates from the West Asia Region Regional Councillor candidates from the West Europe Region Regional Councillor candidates from the Meso and South American Region Delegates vote for regional candidates View of the dais Around the Venue Zhang Xinsheng, President, IUCN, and Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General Delegates speak informally With backgrounds painted by the elephant Rama, this 'inter-species' art from the Rama Exhibition aims at raising awareness about the plight of endangered species

The 1st Sitting of the Members' Assembly of the IUCN convened on Tuesday morning, with IUCN President Zhang Xinsheng calling on members to look for “convergence of interests and to find solutions.” Throughout the morning, delegates considered: the appointment and first report of the Congress Credentials Committee, adoption of the agenda; appointment of the Resolutions, Finance, and Programme Committees of the Congress; the reports of the Director General and Council; and the first report of the Resolutions Committee. In the afternoon, during the 2nd Sitting of the Members’ Assembly, the IUCN presented information about the purpose and process of the Hawai‘i Commitments; and presented the Draft IUCN Programme 2017-2020, and the Financial Plan 2017-2020. Director General Inger Anderson introduced IUCN's three strategic themes of agriculture and biodiversity, oceans and islands, and building constituencies. The meeting then discussed, through a series of panel sessions, how the IUCN should address the challenges of: conserving nature in the face of industrial agriculture; and preserving the health of the world’s oceans. In the evening, delegates attended an award ceremony, which included the presentation of the laureates of the John C. Phillips Memorial Medal and the Harold Jefferson Coolidge Memorial Medal, and approval of the laureates for Honorary Membership of IUCN. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has produced daily reports, daily web coverage, summary videos from the Forum and the Members Assembly, as well as a summary report from the IUCN Congress 2016, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Members' Assembly: Morning Session View of the dais at the start of the Members' Assembly A traditional Hawaiian blessing is presented to open the Assembly Zhang Xinsheng, President, IUCN Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General George Greene, Chair of the Council Governance Committee, IUCN Luc De Wever, Governance Officer, IUCN Aroha Mead, Chair of the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), IUCN Delegates vote to adopt the agenda and program of work Hasna Jasimuddin Moudud, Bangladesh National Committee of IUCN Javed Jabbar, Baanhn Beli, Pakistan Nicholas Robinson, International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) Richard Cellarius, Sierra Club Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Unnayan Onneshan John Robinson, Councillor for North America and Vice President, IUCN Simon Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Vice-President, IUCN Miguel Pellerano, Regional Councillor for Meso and South America, IUCN Marina von Weissenberg, Regional Councillor for West Europe, IUCN Members' Assembly: Afternoon Session View of the dais during the afternoon session Cyriaque Sendashonga, Global Director of the IUCN Policy and Programme Group Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General Michael Davis, Chief Financial Officer, IUCN Tamar Pataridze, Regional Councillor for Eastern Europe, North and Central Asia, IUCN Panel speakers discussing how the IUCN should address the challenge of conserving nature in the face of industrial agriculture Ruth Richardson, Executive Director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Canada Alexander Müller, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Agriculture and Food, and German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) Jason Clay, Senior Vice President of Market Transformation, WWF Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Panelists discussing how the IUCN should address the challenge of preserving the health of the world’s oceans Pierre-Yves Cousteau, Cousteau Divers Birguy Lamizana-Diallo, UN Environment Programme Jeroen Dagevos, Plastic Soup Foundation Awards Ceremony Zhang Xinsheng, President, IUCN, opens the award ceremony Maria Teresa Jorge Pádua, Brazil, is awarded the John C. Phillips Memorial Medal Lee Talbot, US, is awared the Harold Jefferson Coolidge Memorial Medal Ashok Khosla, India, received the Honorary Membership of IUCN Awards Skumsa Mancotya, Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa, receives the Honorary Membership of IUCN Awards on behalf of Valli Moosa, South Africa Student's Day: Hawaiʻi Youth Challenge 2020 Almost 900 young people attend the student's day to learn about the importance of conservation Students listen to various presentations throughout the day The US Fish and Wildlife Services bring magic back into conservation by performing nature-related magic tricks for students Students participate in a variety of activities throughout the day Around the Venue Delegates speak informally Delegates take photos during the traditional presentation