Youth

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. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. High-Level Segment UNCCD COP 13 logo above the plenary hall L-R: Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary; Wang Yang, Vice Premier of China; and Zhang Jianlong, President of COP 13 Video presentation on Chinese progress in combating desertification L-R: Rajeb Boulharouf, Chef de Cabinet, UNCCD Secretariat; Pradeep Monga, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary; and Li Jiheng, Party Secretary Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China L-R: Carmen Margina, UNCCD Secretariat; Jiang Zelin, Deputy Secretary General, State Council, China; and Trevor Benn, Rapporteur 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 Siim Kiisler, Minister of the Environment, Estonia Richard Mwendendu, Director, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya Joseph Chennoth, Apostolic Nuncio to Japan, Holy See 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 Roundtable 1: Land degradation: A challenge to development, prosperity and peace Manoel Sobral Filho, Director, UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) Sydney Alexander Samuels Milson, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Guatemala View of the roundtable discussions on land degradation Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, Minister of Interior, Nigeria Alahgie Camara, President, Gambian Returnees Association, the Gambia Hamud Mohamud, State Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Somalia Jennifer MacIntyre, Ambassador for Climate Change, Canada Roundtable 2: Drought and sand and dust storms: Early warning and beyond View of the roundtable discussions on drought, and sand and dust storms Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment Sheikh Abdullah Ahmed Al-Sabah, General Director, Environment Public Authority, Kuwait Penomwenyo Pohamba Shifeta, Minister Environment and Tourism, Namibia Christine Dawson, Director, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of State, US Díego Moreno, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Argentina Roundtable 3: Land degradation neutrality: “From targets to action…what will it take?” View of the roundtable discussions on land degradation neutrality Johanita Ndahimananjara, Minister of Environment, Ecology and Forests, Madagascar Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary Cyrie Sendashonga, IUCN Luc Gnacadja, Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) Gilberto Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Cabo Verde Felix Monggae, Botswana COP 13 Snapshots L-R: Domingos Barros, Cabo Verde; Jacques de Pina Tavares, Cabo Verde; Frederika Teixeira, UNCCD Secretariat; and Gilberto Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Cabo Verde L-R: Kimo Goree, Vice President, IISD, in a conversation with Christine Dawson, US A traditional Mongolian yurt serving as a VIP lounge

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. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. CSO Open Dialogue Session Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, delivering her statement to the CSO Open Dialogue Session Jia Xiaoxia, China, on behalf of the COP 13 President Rajeb Boulharouf, Chef de Cabinet, UNCCD Secretariat 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 Sophiko Akhobadze, Executive Director, Regional Environmental Center for the Caucasus, Georgia Andrew Lesa, Youth Representative, New Zealand L-R: Andrew Lesa, Youth Representative, New Zealand; Robert Tansey, Advisor, The Nature Conservancy; and Juan Riet, Uruguay Yoko Watanabe, Global Manager, Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, M'Boro Indigenous Women and People Association, Chad Alfredo Blum, Uruguay Britta Hackenberg, Namibia Adrián León, Venezuela Zhang Kebin, China Emmanuel Seck, Enda Énergie, Senegal John Kwon Hyuk Dae, Future Forest Damary Vila, Fundación Antonio Núñez Jimenez, Cuba Miguel Ángel Crespo, Productividad Biósfera y Medio Ambiente (PROBIOMA) Fatima Ait Ben Alla, Réseau des Associations de Sud Est, Morocco Bhawani Shanker Kusum (center), Gram Bharati Samiti, India Participants from the CSO Open Dialogue showing the "The Green Handkerchief Initiative" sign Committee on Science and Technology (CST) 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 Jean-Luc Chotte, CST Rapporteur Murukesan Krishnapillai, Micronesia Flavia Witkowski Frangetto, Brazil Pablo Viegas Aurelio, Argentina Participants at the afternoon session of the CST Hamid Čustović, Bosnia and Herzegovina, CST Chair, gaveled the meeting to a close at 4:13 pm COP 13 Snapshots View of the Ordos International Convention and Exhibition Center grounds L-R: Mbaihoulam Gaou, Chad; Jean-Charles Kemanda-Danguiza, Central African Republic; and Paul Babidou Zarabingui, Central African Republic Delegates from Africa consulting

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. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. UNCCD COP 13 commemorative postal stamps and envelopes Committee on Science and Technology (CST) Hamid Čustović, Bosnia and Herzegovina, CST Chair, convenes the CST session 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 Hernando García Martínez, Colombia Nana Bolashvili, Georgia Klaus Kellner, South Africa Mariam Akhtar-Schuster, Science-Policy Interface (SPI) Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) Aliyu Bananda, Nigeria, CRIC Chair Chizuru Aoki, Global Environment Facility (GEF) Sven Walter, Global Mechanism (GM) Mohsen Abdolhoseini, Iran Marijana Kapović Solomun, Bosnia and Herzegovina Jason Williams, Antigua and Barbuda Mohammad Azizul Haque, Bangladesh Dominga Polanco, Dominican Republic Puta Tofinga, Kiribati Sam Contreras, the Philippines Ana María Rivero Santos, Colombia Richard Lungu Mfumu, Zambia L-R: David Oswald, DE Design + Environment, and Simone Quatrini, GM Committee of the Whole (COW) Nosipho Ngcaba, COW Chair, convenes the afternoon session of the COW Nosipho Ngcaba, COW Chair L-R: Abdourahamane Mariama, Noura Fatchima, Boubacar Zalia Yacouba, Niger Marcus Davies, Canada Anna Ballance, EU Shonisani Munzhedzi, South Africa Youth Forum L-R: Zhang Hongwen, China; Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary; and Zhang Yongli, Vice Administrator, State Forestry Administration, China Participants at the Youth Forum L-R: Liu Fangfei, Anchor, China Central Television; and Marcos Montoiro, UNCCD Secretariat COP 13 Snapshots Delegates from Togo with their UNCCD conference bags Wagaki Wischnewski, UNCCD Secretariat (center) posing with UN Security Participants register for a field trip organized by the Government of China

The opening session of the High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Ministerial Segment of the 2017 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) took place on Monday morning. Reporting by Ministerial Chairs on the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development, and two sessions on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), followed. In the afternoon, the UN Secretary-General’s report on the theme of the ECOSOC 2017 session (“Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges”), and the report on the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) were presented, followed by a general debate. In parallel, an additional two sessions on VNRs took place. In total, 12 countries presented VNRs on Monday: Brazil, Luxembourg, Nepal, Monaco, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Kenya, the Netherlands, Chile, and Malaysia. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports from HLPF 2017 and also produced a summary and analysis report, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening of the High-Level Segment Plenary is full to capacity as the High-level Segment begins Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) UN Secretary-General António Guterres Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Delegates applaud the keynote speakers Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Jürgen Schulz, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Cristián Barros Melet, Permanent Representative of Chile to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC View of plenary from the dais Reporting by Ministerial Chairs on the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development View of the dais during the session Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Commissioner-General for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea, France Lahcen Daoudi, Minister of General Affairs and Governance, Morocco Francisco Guzmán Ortiz, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico Rosemarie Edillon, Undersecretary for Planning and Policy, National Economic and Development Authority, the Philippines Gervais Meatchi, Director of Planning and Development, Togo Presentation of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) 12 countries present their VNRs throughout the day Romain Schneider, Minister for Development, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, and Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of Environment, Luxembourg Adil Najam, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission, Nepal Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany  José Antônio Marcondes de Carvalho, Ministry of Environment, Energy, Science, and Technology, Brazil Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of National Development Planning, Indonesia Serge Telle, Minister of State, Monaco Fumio Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan Abul Kalam Azad, Principal SDG Coordinator, Prime Minister's Office, Bangladesh Lilianne Plouman, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the Netherlands Olga Marta Sánchez Oviedo, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, Costa Rica Marcos Barraza, Minister of Social Development, Chile Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia Irungu Nyakera, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Kenya High-Level General Debate Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the High-level debate Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development José Antonio Ocampo, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Luck Mulusa, Minister of National Development Planning, Zambia, speaking on behalf of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) Alenka Smerkolj, Minister without portfolio responsible for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion, Slovenia Andrés Mideros, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Miguel Ángel Moir Sandoval, Minister of Planning, Guatemala Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife, Sri Lanka, speaking on behalf of the Group of 15 Kęstutis Navickas, Minister of Environment, Lithuania Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa Around the Venue Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, speaks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Peter Thomson, President of the UNGA Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, DESA UN Secretary-General António Guterres Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC, with Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of ECOSOC Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of Environment, Luxembourg Delegates stand at the back of plenary Security around the venue Zaheer Fakir, South Africa, speaks with Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Abdullah Abu Shawesh, State of Palestine Martijn Visser and Max van Deursen, Youth Representatives for Sustainable Development, the Netherlands Delegates between sessions Around the UN Headquarters