United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

1. Exploring the need for an instrument … The outcome of Rio+20 for land and soil IUCN 2012 World Conservation Congress IUCN Commission on Environmental Law Workshop 274 – Proposal for a Global Soil Convention Luc GNACADJA Executive Secretary of UNCCD 7 September 2012 Jeju, Republic of Korea United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

2. Oil Peak Vs Soil Peak More than the ‘Oil peak’ which concerns us so much, The ‘Soil peak’ will challenge ourvery existence because "Body & Soil are not two" Body and Soil are one

3. Poverty Food security What implications for ? SustainableDevelopment 70% rural in 2030 +45% Energy Water 80% hunger rural +50% in 2030+ 120 million ha Water in Agric70% in 2030 +30% Deforestation: 70 to 80 % of expansion of cropland expansion Land/Soil

4. In too many places, achievements in production have been associated with management practices that have degraded the land and water Status & Trends in Global Land Degradation Source: SOLAW 2011 - FAO

5. Droughtpotentialworldwide 2000-2098 Source : University Corporation for AtmosphericResearch - http://www2.ucar.edu/news/2904/climate-change-drought-may-threaten-much-globe-within-decades

6. DLDD* is drying up the future we want ? SustainableDevelopment • More than 50% of agricultural moderately to severely degraded • LD directly affects 1,5 billion people globally • 75 billion tons of fertile soil disappear/year • 12 million ha/Year lost due to drought and desertification • Six million km2 of drylands bear a legacy of desertification • Biodiversity: 27,000 species lost each year due to LD • “Improved management of the world’s land (including terrestrial carbon) represents 1/3rdof the overall global abatement potential in 2030 Food Forest Energy Water DLDD Land/Soil DLDD = Desertificaion Land Degradation & Drought Climate Change Biodiversity loss

7. Rio+20 outcome on land/soil Subject • The declaration is a real paradigm shift on land & soil degradation issues which should affect the UNCCD and its implementation: • Acknowledges DLDD as global challenge; • Sets land degradation neutrality as global purpose/goal; • Recognizes UNCCD as the mechanism for action; • Recalls that scientific knowledge is key in both planning and implementation; • Identifies the need for information sharing on soil and climate. “Rio plus 20 has given us a solid platform to build on: it has affirmed fundamental principles, renewed essential commitments and given us new direction.” (UN Secretary‐General Ban Ki‐moon) Cf. paras 205-206 of the declaration

8. need for an instrument Subject UNCSD calls for a land degradation neutral world: the challenge is recognized as global, but the objective and the timeframe are not yet set. ZNLD by 2030? • Moving from a declaration of principles to real commitments requires a stronger institutional framework: • Setting achievable and verifiable targets for land degradation neutrality, both in terms of magnitude and time; • Developing policies, measures, guidelines and mechanisms for achieving land degradation neutrality at regional and subregional levels; • Embedding land degradation neutrality targets into national sustainable development policies and programmes; • Introducing economic instruments/framework to prevent land degradation and promote restoration.

9. UNCCD unique assets Subject UNCCD is the natural enabling platform for any concerted action to enhance sustainable land management, including soil and water management, at global, regional and national levels. • Global membership, including all development partners; • Long-lasting records of intergovernmental consultations on land; • Long-term strategy for action, with global goals and clear targets; • Solid scientific ground to support decision making; • Policy instruments and operational mechanisms at regional, subregional and national levels; • Consulted monitoring and assessment of land degradation; • Global support, the GEF has become a financial instrument of UNCCD. • Any global legal instrument on sustainable use of soils would have to rely on UNCCD assets or build similar ones: cost-opportunity and cost-efficiency

10. national/global targets Subject National environmental laws and regulation for sustainable use of land [soil and water] should build on consensus reached on global targets to achieve land degradation neutrality at the required speed and scale. The following approach could be considered: Setting voluntary national targets: UNCCD Parties identify national, voluntary time limits by which each one of them expects to reach land degradation neutrality. No compliance system, but positive accountability. Establishing intergovernmental consultations for a global instrument (protocol) for the sustainable use of all lands & soil as an essential component to ensure global sustainability: political consensus needs to be built at UNCCD-COP level, and legal and technical advice provided to negotiations. Consultations can start once a “protocol of implementation” within the UNCCD is perceived as win-win mechanism by which the implementation of “target-oriented” national/global action programmes can be boosted.

11. Poverty eradication • Improving livelihood through pro-poor policies on Sustainable Land & Water Management • Food Security • Preserving the resource base for food security – Land productivity/Soil fertility improvement at the core of all long term strategies • Drought & Water stress • Improving water availability & quality through sustainable land & water management • Climate change • Land is a win-win context for adaptation, mitigation & resilience building • Biodiversity • Biodiversity conservation through improvement of land ecosystems’ conditions Soil Conservation • Avoided Deforestation • Sust. Land Management & Restoration of degraded Lands as an alternative to Deforestation • Bio Energies • Opportunities for Bio energies through biomass production • Avoiding Forced Migrations • Changing the DAM paradigm • “Degrade-Abandon-Migrate”

12. Thank you