Building partnerships to reduce risk to drought and desertification
Overview and Expected Outcomes:
Desertification is defined as degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused not only by climatic variations but also by human activities.
Drought is a natural hazard that causes great impact worldwide. It affects people’s livelihoods and socio-economic development with devastating impacts particularly in Africa, where prolonged drought can even lead to famine, starvation and complex situations involving millions of people.
With projected global climate change, the frequency and severity of drought and the risk of land degradation with impacts in agriculture and subsequent food production, are expected to increase. It is, therefore, imperative that all national, regional and international actors involved in drought risk reduction and in combating desertification take a collective and robust approach to address these pressing issues, understand root causes and undertake effective actions to reduce vulnerabilities.
This side event will present joint efforts of the ISDR system and the UNCCD to support national governments and regional organizations for advancing in their development and humanitarian agenda to reduce the risks of desertification and drought. The discussions will focus on strengthening regional and global partnerships/networks and capacities by engaging various governmental, non-governmental and international actors. Good practices will be shared, and new opportunities will be identified to enhance capacities to reduce the risks of desertification and drought.
Agenda:
13:15-13:27 Welcome and statement by Luc Gnacadja:
“The importance of building partnership among different stakeholders on the implementation of the activities of the UNCCD 10-Year Strategic Plan to reduce the risk of desertification and drought”.
13:27-13:33 Statement by Cheick Sidi Diarra:
"The Brussels Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy, partnerships to address the challenges of drought and desertification in LDCs and SIDS."
13:33-13:45 Statement by Sálvano Briceño:
“The partnership-building of the ISDR system through strengthening global network on desertification and drought”.
13:45-14:35 Discussion on good practices on drought risk reduction and on strengthening regional and global partnerships and capacities through involving wide range of stakeholders.
14:35-14:45 Conclusions and way forward.