Position paper

IUCN Position Paper for UNCCD COP16

As the last of the Rio Conventions to meet in late 2024, UNCCD COP16 takes place against the backdrop of an interlinked climate, biodiversity and land degradation crisis, with progress against societal goals deeply insufficient. There is a collective need to scale-up our actions and investments to prevent and restore degraded lands, address ever-worsening droughts, improve the health of our soils and ensure the inclusion of all, and to do so at speed and scale.

In this context, IUCN makes the following recommendations to the Parties:

  1. Place Nature-based Solutions at the centre of efforts to enhance implementation of the Convention.
  2. Accelerate the development of initiatives and partnerships that promote synergies between the Rio Conventions and other multilateral environmental agreements, with Land Degradation Neutrality as the entry point.
  3. Increase action for the restoration of rangelands, grasslands and agricultural lands for climate and biodiversity benefits.
  4. Enhance the resilience of vulnerable people and ecosystems to the impacts of drought.
  5. Promote inclusive stakeholder engagement in land restoration.