Head of FRWO Attends the High Level Segment of COP14

Khalil Aghaee, Deputy Minister and Head of Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO) attended the High Level Segment of the 14^th Conference of Parties (COP14) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification under the topic “Restore Land to Sustain Life” from 9-10 September 2019 in New Delhi- India. Reversing land degradation and its outcomes while accelerating positive achievements for people and for ecosystems with a view to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals is the core agenda of the fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP14).

The purpose of the event was to facilitate a leaders’ debate and create a dynamic scene for inspiration and interaction that could feed into the outcome of the Climate Action Summit, particularly the nature-based solutions track. The luncheon also aimed at establishing climate change resilience as the basis for stability and security. It would help create a new paradigm for enhanced resilience and global security founded on integration of land into decision-making. It would also forge a positive, actionable agenda on climate change, providing a potential supporting framework for ambitious 2020 review of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting is available here. The conclusions of the high-level luncheon will also inform the UN Climate Action Summit in New York and UNFCCC COP25.

According to FRWO’s website, Over 3,000 participants from all over the world participated in COP14. The Parties to the Convention will agree on the actions each will take over the next two years and beyond to get us on a sustainable development path. 

Today, over a million species are on the verge of extinction, threatening  the global food security, largely due to habitat loss and land degradation. Three out of every 4 hectares of land have been altered from their natural states and the productivity of about 1 in every 4 hectares of land is declining. Poor land health is on the rise that is impacting 3.2 billion people all over the world. Land degradation working in tandem with climate change and biodiversity loss may force up to 700 million people to migrate by 2050. UNCCD focuses on over 1.3 billion people who rely directly on the land to survive and suffer the most from the biophysical impacts of land degradation and drought. Communities that rely solely on the land should be supported to become resilient in the face of environmental, social and climatic pressures.