On Saturday 6 June, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Secretariat hosted “Land Day” as a parallel event to the UNFCCC meeting.
The event was opened by Luc Gnacadja, UNCCD Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, and Adolf Kloke-Lesch, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Director-General. Jeffrey Sachs, Earth Institute Director, Columbia University, offered a pre-recorded keynote address.
The event featured three panels, entitled: “How does sustainable land management support climate change adaptation?”; “What options can soil carbon sequestration offer for mitigating and adapting to climate change?”; and “Sustainable land management in climate change policy frameworks: what is the way forward?”
Key Statements
Luc Gnacadja emphasized “win-win-win” solutions and the principles of equity and justice, and called for the elaboration, in the new climate regime, of land-based mitigation and other adaptation initiatives, relevant trade off mechanisms that benefit all stakeholders, particularly farmers and other land managers, and a focus on a set of changes that enhance the rehabilitation, protection and sustainable management of degraded lands.
For this full statement visit: http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/landday/docs/lgLandDay6June2009.pdf
Yvo de Boer said developing countries can contribute up to 70% of the mitigation in Reduced Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD), and with the positive spin-offs of reducing vulnerability. De Boer said “Copenhagen is the time to make sure win-win effects become reality across the world.”
Recalling that scientific and political challenges that inhibited the comprehensive elaboration of land-based adaptation and mitigation strategies for the Kyoto Protocol, De Boer said “science has since caught up, and monitoring carbon sequestration into soils can be monitored with much greater accuracy” and that “a successful outcome will include incentives for the agricultural and forestry sectors to adopt decisive mitigation measures.”
For the full statement visit: http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/landday/docs/090606_speech_Bonn.pdf
Sources for more information:
UNCCD – http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/landday/menu.php
IISD Reporting Services – http://www.iisd.ca/climate/sb30/enbots/06.html
Written by: ASB Blog Editor
