UNCCD and ecosystem-based adaptation

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

World Day to Combat Desertification

Maison de la Paix, Graduate Institute

Geneva, 17 June 2014

What is desertification and how does desertification affect everyone?

What is the World Day to Combat Desertification? What are dryland ecosystems and why are they important? What is ecosystem-based adaptation and how does it work

in practice? Supporting a future of ecosystem-based adaptation.

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Outline

Outline

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What is desertification and how does desertification affect everyone?

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Drylands regions are some of the most insecure places in the world, and in some cases their political instability can destabilize entire regions. While the number of climate related migrations is debated, it is estimated that by 2020 some 60 million people will migrate from affected areas in sub-Saharan Africa towards Northern Africa and Europe.

Desertification and land degradation are not just problems of the very poor. Areas at risk of and/or affected by desertification can be found in more than 110 countries: the global economic losses from desertification and land degradation amount to approximately USD 42 billion each year. If food production in the drylands collapses, food prices worldwide will skyrocket.

What is desertification and how does desertification affect everyone?

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What is the World Day to Combat Desertification?

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In 1995, the General Assembly of the United Nations designated 17 June as the WDCD to raise awareness about the threats and consequences of desertification and drought. But the goal of the day is not only to talk about the problems, but also the solutions.

The theme of this year’s observance is ecosystem-based adaptation. We chose this theme to increase awareness about the potential of ecosystem-based adaptation as a strategy for coping with the impacts of climate change, especially in the drylands.

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What are dryland ecosystems and why are they important?

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What is ecosystem-based adaptation and how does it work in practice?

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Ecosystems are naturally adaptable and resilient to external factors, but vulnerable to climate change: climatic impacts may be too severe for an ecosystem to withstand them; the way we use the ecosystems increases their vulnerability to climate change.

Adaptation refers to actions taken to ensure that negative impacts of climate change are prevented or minimized and that both people and ecosystems are equipped to withstand potential damage.

A commonly used definition: Sustainably managing, conserving and restoring ecosystems (…) to provide the services that allow people to adapt to climate change (IUCN).

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What is ecosystem-based adaptation and how does it work in practice?

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What is ecosystem-based adaptation and how does it work in practice?

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What is ecosystem-based adaptation and how does it work in practice?

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Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), by cultivating buried root systems or "underground forests," in degraded landscapes, over time restoring land productivity (West Africa);

Holistic Landscape Approach, by empowering local populations to care for wastelands and turning them into common rangelands (India);

Integrated Landscape Approach, by mobilizing farmers and small land holders to restore vital watersheds (Mexico).

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Supporting a future of ecosystem-based adaptation

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Encourage ecosystem-based adaption in the drylands and beyond;

Rehabilitate degraded land to increase climate change resilience;

Build technical and institutional capacity for sustainable land management;

Create national and sub-national policies for drought mitigation and prevention;

Increase recognition of the role of ecosystem-based adaptation, especially in the drylands, within the UNFCCC and CBD intergovernmental processes;

Include land management-related indicators and targets in the Post-2015 and Sustainable Development Goals.

Thanks