Position paper

IUCN Position Paper for UNCCD COP13

Drylands are globally important areas that are home to more than a third of humanity, including many of the world’s poorest populations. Restoring, rehabilitating, and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems is a high priority for equitably achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving SDG Target 15.3 on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) will be a major step in the transition towards global sustainability.

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LDN requires policies and investments that protect biodiversity and ecosystems in drylands, particularly soil biodiversity as the foundation of land productivity, water cycles, and of carbon sequestration and storage. LDN should be achieved in ways that uphold local resource rights and governance and contribute to overall sustainable development and multiple SDGs. Investment in restoring and sustainably managing land should be given greater priority considering the importance of healthy land (SDG 15) for reducing poverty (SDG 1), food security (SDG 2), health (SDG 3), water security (SDG 6), economic growth (SDG 8), and climate change mitigation and adaptation (SDG 13). Investments in achieving LDN should also contribute to gender equality (SDG 5), peace and justice (SDG 16) among other goals

Equitable and environmentally sound attainment of LDN requires investment in all types of land and land use, including grasslands, forests, agricultural land, wetlands and others.

In this context:

Parties are urged to adopt the revised Strategic Framework of the convention and to mobilize greater action to deliver LDN by 2030.
Parties are also encouraged to build on the clearly established synergy between the Convention and the sister Rio Conventions in order to achieve greater impact through integrated approaches and the multifunctional use of land.

This paper expands upon these are several other specific recommendations to Parties to the Convention

PRIORITIES

IUCN Position Paper for UNCCD COP13

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