CSO panel on behalf of civil society organisations attending COP14 made its opening Statement for UNCCD COP14 Plenary:
“We are participating in this meeting to remind the delegates of the very real concerns of the people affected by land degradation, desertification and droughts. We urge the Parties to act in the best interests of the people and engage people on the ground so that they will be able to sustain their livelihood and build resilient future, at least to be able to expect any future for our children”.
With regard to the agenda, the civil society organisations in this COP have agreed to bring five priorities
First: the recognition by policy makers, financial institutions and others that community-led initiatives are contributing to Land Degradation Neutrality.
Second: land tenure security of communities in general, and of women, young people and vulnerable groups specifically must be secured through a UNCCD COP14 decision on implementation of Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests.
Third: participation of civil society and especially women, youth, children throughout the decision-making processes regarding Land Degradation Neutrality target and National Drought Plans is crucial to guarantee sustainability.
Fourth : finances must be accessible and appropriate for civil society organizations supporting communities especially women and young people in achieving LDN and/or monitoring the implementation of LDN projects.
Fifth : transform our society so as to achieve greater sustainability and equity, especially gender equity.
We call upon the Parties to include these priorities of the CSOs in the COP 14 decisions.
Find the whole statement here
Form 2nd to 13th September 2019, in India, UNCCD COP14 opens “with emphasis on the importance of human actions on land. If human actions have caused damage to land and biodiversity, then human actions can restore land, ecology and environment as well”.
