Changwon Initiative under UNCCD

Greening Drylands Partnership Projects

As part of the Changwon Initiative, launched in 2011 at the 10th Conference of the Parties of UNCCD, an MOU for Cooperation Among the United Nations Environment Programme, the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Korea Forest Service was signed between the three parties. The objective of the Greening Drylands Partnership (GDP) Project was to provide support to developing countries to promote action programmes for reversing desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD), reforestation and forest rehabilitation in degraded lands.

The first phase of the project was implemented in 2013 in the Sakumo Ramsar Site in Ghana, Morocco, and Tunisia. In the first project, treated sewage was used for the reforestation to combat desertification and land degradation. The projects in Ghana and Morocco were recognized as the best practices, and they were scaled up to the second phase.

In 2014, the first phase projects were implemented in Peru, Ecuador, Benin and Ethiopia. Treated wastewater and rainwater was used for irrigation.

Also in 2015, projects were implemented in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tadjikistan. In Kazakhstan, the project aims to improve the strategy for tackling drought and climate change. The National Center for Combating Desertification was established in Kyrgyzstan as part of the project. In Tadjikistan, degraded and eroded land were restored through erosion control and planting salt tolerant plants. After the review of these first phase project, successful projects will be scaled up to the second phase. The inception meeting for the implementation of the GDP project in Mongolia is expected to be held in April 2017.

• 
  Maturing coconut trees planted in rows (Ghana)

  Maturing coconut trees planted in rows (Ghana)

• 
  Nursery plants (Benin)

  Nursery plants (Benin)

• 
  Awareness session of the local population of the FC Agoua (Benin)

  Awareness session of the local population of the FC Agoua (Benin)

Greening Drylands Partnership Projects

Regional Meeting preparatory to CRIC 15 for country Parties of Annex II was held in the Republic of Korea in September 2016, hosted by the Korea Forest Service. The country Parties from the Asia-Pacific Region gathered in Ilsan to discuss on the agenda items related to CRIC 15. The Parties reviewed the initial findings from the Intergovernmental Working Group on the future strategic framework of the Convention (IWG-FSF), future implementation of the Convention and consideration of best practices in the implementation of the Convention.