Summary of the UNCCD COP 10



l  The Changwon Initiative: the greatest outcome of the COP 10

l  Establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization, a strong support for the Changwon Initiative

l  Launching of ‘The SLM Business Forum’ opens door to the private sectors

l  Parliamentarians from 27 counties join hands in action against desertification

l  Rio Conventions Pavilion enhances the promotion of synergies

l  UNCCD COP 10 goes papersmart with the use of Tablet PCs

l  Official tour courses receive positive responses

l  The world learns about the Korea’s success stories

l  The road till COP 11









The UNCCD COP 10 concludes with major progress and success

The tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 10) successfully concluded on October 21, 2011 after 12 days of deliberations. With over 6,500 delegates and participants from 161 country Parties out of 194 member Parties, the UNCCD COP 10 marked the largest COP ever. It is also historic as the COP met in Asia for the first time where the largest number of people affected by DLDD live than any other continents.  



Besides adopting 40 decisions, Parties jointly responded to many of the pending issues of the UNCCD, including taking a decision on a long-standing issue of institutional governance, agreeing on the framework for the mid-term review of The Strategy and actions for further refinement of the set of impact indicators. “This session will be remembered as the session that has brought a lot of innovation both in the actions proposed and the way Parties interact among themselves. We have brought together the pieces that will enable the engine called science to move this process forward. The COP’s High-Level Segment showed an unmatched level of political will and there is a renewed spirit of international cooperation,” said Mr. Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.



High-profile individuals, including Mr. Sha Zukang, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly and Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, as well as ministers and vice-ministers from 83 country Parties attended the High-Level Segment. It is also where the Changwon Initiative was adopted and leaders sent a strong message on combating land degradation to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to be held in Brazil next June.



Also for the first time, the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Business Forum was held to bring the business community into the Convention process and the Land for Life Award was launched to provide global recognition of SLM practices.



The UNCCD COP 10 also provided an opportunity for raising awareness on desertification in the northeast Asian region. Until now, the desertification problem has been mainly focused on Africa.



Dr. Don Koo Lee, President of the UNCCD COP 10 and Minister of the Korea Forest Service said, “COP 10 will be remembered as a turning point for the Convention both on the key topics and process. It will bring a paradigm shift that could lead to the achievement of a global target of zero net land degradation.”





The Changwon Initiative: the greatest outcome of the COP 10

The international community welcomed and supported the adoption of the Changwon Initiative proposed by the Republic of Korea during the High-Level Segment. It was highly commended that the Changwon Initiative provided an action-oriented approach towards reversing and preventing desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD), further stimulating international action and cooperation towards realizing a land degradation neutral world.



The Changwon Initiative intends to complement activities being undertaken in line with The Strategy (10-year strategic plan and framework to enhance the implementation of the Convention, 2008-2018) and in accordance with COP 10 decisions.



Aimed at leading to an agreement on the setting up of global targets towards “zero net land degradation”, the main components of the Changwon Initiative include: 1) enhancing the scientific process of the UNCCD, 2) mobilizing additional resources and facilitating partnership arrangements, and 3) supporting a global framework for the promotion of best practices- the Land for Life Award.

The Initiative will support implementing a mechanism to provide international, interdisciplinary scientific advice to the Convention process. As resources required for preventing desertification and land degradation and mitigating the effects of drought are relatively limited under the UNCCD, compared to those of other Rio Conventions, the Changwon Initiative focuses on forging a strong partnership for mobilizing additional resources. In line with this, the Korea Forest Service (KFS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Northeast Asia DLDD Network with China and Mongolia. Another MOU on Greening Drylands Partnership for Green Growth was signed between KFS, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and UNCCD. It aims at reducing DLDD through plantation and forest restoration activities in drylands, thereby contributing to economic growth and national development. With a pilot project to take off early next year, this partnership will be in operation until 2015.



Its third component, "The Land for Life Award" aims to emulate proactive SLM initiatives at all levels of the society. It acknowledges SLM-related actions of individuals, teams, institutions, businesses, research institutes, public offices, political leaders, decision makers among others, that have brought visible change towards sustainable development in the affected ecosystems. This Award is expected to significantly contribute to the implementation of the Convention. Many renowned institutions including the Qatar National Food Security Programme, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Global Environmental Facility and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, showed their interests in sponsoring this Award. Mr. Luc Gnacadja wished that the Land for Life Award will be instrumental in encouraging more countries and other international organizations to join hands in the prevention of desertification and land degradation, following the path opened by the Republic of Korea.



In his capacity as President of the UNCCD COP 10 for the next two years, Dr. Lee with great support from the Korean Government will exert every effort to concretize the Changwon Initiative and promote international cooperation on implementing decisions of the COP10.





Establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization, a strong support for the Changwon Initiative

The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), to be formally established next year, will not only serve as a regional organization for forestry cooperation in Asia, but will also operate as a strong support for the Changwon Initiative. It is expected to fulfill the objectives of strengthening forest cooperation for climate change adaptation and pursuing green growth. Through AFoCO, KFS will share Korea’s internationally recognized rehabilitation technologies and also follow up on its commitment for implementing the Initiative.



By fostering capacity-building of member countries to address regional issues, including climate change and desertification, AFoCO hopes to become a bridge between developed and developing countries. Cooperation projects for climate change adaptation and human resources development will soon be implemented with the budget of 2 million USD.



Establishment of AFoCO was originally proposed by His Excellency Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea, at the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in June 2009. In his statement at the opening of the 23rd International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress, he further urged the need for sharing Korea's forest restoration technologies through establishing the said organization.





Launching of ‘The SLM Business Forum’ opens door to the private sectors

One of the important attempts made at this first UNCCD COP held in Asia was the launching of ‘The SLM Business Forum’, which stirred discussions on the responsibility of businesses and establishment of public-private cooperation on SLM.



The Republic of Korea, in its capacity as COP 10 President, led the Forum and encouraged the mobilization of financial and technological resources from private sectors alongside inter-governmental efforts to support activities that will reverse and prevent desertification and land degradation as well as mitigate the effects of drought. The Forum opened doors to the business community to make contributions through technological and financial support in affected areas. New investment opportunities are expected out of this undertaking. The idea is that businesses can contribute to combating desertification and at the same time gain profit in a new market, further enhancing the national standing.



Upon the proposal of this Forum, it encouraged active participation from various domestic corporations. Seventy-seven domestic corporations, including Yuhan Kimberly, Ltd., Hyundai Motor Company, SK Forest as well as overseas firms such as Elion Resources Group from China, CSFD from France and Cargill Korea, joined the Forum.

 

The SLM Forum Chairman and President of the New Paradigm Institute, Mr. Kook Hyun Moon, said "the second session of the Forum will be held at the Rio+20 Summit next year." He added that "the Forum will run permanently and consistently grow up to having 1,000 business participants by 2015."



Parliamentarians from 27 counties join hands in action against desertification

The members of parliament from 27 countries during the ninth Round Table of Parliamentarians adopted a declaration highlighting actions on SLM, implementation of The Strategy and a call for a stronger political commitment and will. “No country is safe from DLDD. It is only through the concerted and coordinated efforts of all stakeholders, including land users, governments, and parliamentarians, that we can prevent and reverse desertification and land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought,” Dr. Lee said. The past Round Tables demonstrated that effective engagement of national parliaments, through their timely approval of adequate policy framework, certainly has contributed to promoting SLM practices and enhancing the implementation of the Convention.





Rio Conventions Pavilion enhances the promotion of synergies

Along with its rich program of events, the Rio Conventions Pavilion held during the COP 10 successfully attracted a large number of visitors from home and abroad, raising awareness of interlinkages among sustainable land management, biodiversity and climate change. This interactive event once again sent out a strong signal and common message to all stakeholders on the need for synergistic implementation of the Rio Conventions. As the international community acknowledged the important contribution of forests to the achievement of their respective goals, KFS renewed its commitment towards implementing the Rio Conventions. Particularly through managing and protecting forests in a sustainable way, KFS plans to support initiatives and actions being carried out to deliver multiple benefits from the synergies.



Over 70 side events which took place in and around the COP 10 showcased practical actions on the ground. The diversity of activity signaled a desire to make the issue of DLDD more practical and accessible to the general public. At the side event on the success of Korea’s forest rehabilitation, organized by KFS, participants were awed by country’s experience of successfully translating environmental consciousness into actions. Photo and cartoon exhibitions, cultural performances and other activities organized on the sideline of the COP 10 promoted public participation and raised awareness on DLDD.





UNCCD COP 10 goes papersmart with the use of Tablet PCs

KFS distributed tablet PCs to the delegates during the COP10 period with an effort to reduce the use of paper, and it was the first major UN conference to do so. By switching to digital device, it substantially minimized paper use and lowered the Conference’s carbon foot print. Many participants used tablet PCs to obtain Conference documents including the daily journal. These tablet PCs further offered Internet access, photos and videos programs together with Android-based web application. Mr. Gnacadja said, “Encouraging sustainability in all areas also helps our work on combating DLDD.” Seeing this as a great success, the United Nations plans to follow COP 10’s example in the future UN conferences, including Rio+20 to be held next year.



In addition, KFS ran Carbon Offset Program to mitigate the emission of carbon dioxide during the COP10. In collaboration with the Gyeongnam Province, co-organizer and host of the conference venue, large-scale tree planting activities in China and Mongolia by 2015 will offset 340 tons of carbon dioxide emitted during the Conference. Furthermore, the Carbon-offsetting Fund Booth encouraged participants to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide they emitted while traveling to Changwon and guided them to contribute voluntarily. This fund will be used for activities to combat desertification and land degradation in the near future.





Official tour courses receive positive responses

KFS held official tour courses for the participants on Sunday, October 15 when no meetings or side events were scheduled. A total of 360 participants joined nine tour courses. In particular, the Hadong course which featured visits to the Erosion Control Commemoration Park in Pohang-City, where successful work of reversing land degradation in Korea was exhibited, received positive responses. The work of erosion control in Korea is seen as a role model of public-private cooperation which converted degraded land into green forests. Some of the Korea's greening technologies were also exhibited. Having witnessed Korea’s greening success on the ground, many delegates from developing countries showed keen interest and asked to share KFS’s technology, knowhow and support in afforestation. Visits to Buddhist temples in Gyeongju-City were also very popular among the participants. They had an opportunity to appreciate Korea’s traditional culture while enjoying the awe-inspiring mountain scenery with brilliant fall foliage of red and yellow.





The world learns about the Korea’s success stories

One of the greatest achievements of the COP 10 lies in the fact that the Republic of Korea has able to improve its national standing. The international community has also recognized and was inspired by the Korea's successful forest restoration. Fifty years ago, Korea suffered from severe forest degradation, but the country successfully transformed its barren mountains into lush green forests alongside achieving economic development in a very short period of time. This has set an example to the world, especially for the developing countries.



"Degraded lands are not dead lands. They are sick lands in need of stewardship." Dr. Lee said. He also emphasized the importance of capacity building and shared that the Republic of Korea plans to further disseminate its experience to the international community and promote capacity building of developing countries.

include: Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Dominica, Ecuador, Eritrea, India, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Oman, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Republic of Tanzania , Vanuatu and Zimbabwe (in alphabetical order).











The road till COP 11

As President of the UNCCD COP 10, Dr. Lee pledged that the Republic of Korea will work hard to fulfill its duties and play the leading role in combating desertification, land degradation and mitigating the effects of drought. In his closing remarks, he also stressed the importance of collaborating with all stakeholders to accelerate the implementation process of the decisions made at the COP 10.



The UNCCD Task Force was created within KFS to identify a series of follow-up activities and to concretize the Changwon Initiative. For the next two years, KFS will work in close cooperation with the UNCCD Secretariat, including organizing intersessional COP 10 Bureau meetings and facilitating the mid-term review of The Strategy. Dr. Lee will participate in Rio+20 to convey the message of the Parties with respect to the Conference theme of green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and to raise the profile of DLDD.