HOW TO COP: desertification. The Convention to Combat Desertification, and the multilateral negotiation process

From 2 to 13 December 2024, the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. To this event, the ICLRC has prepared a brief (in Russian) covering the multilateral negotiation process on the problem of desertification.

This brief is the last one in the HOW TO COP series, which looked at the three conventions agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio (“the Rio Conventions”) that aim to address the interrelated problems of climate change, desertification, and biodiversity loss. 

The UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD), is the key international instrument in combating desertification. The Convention links environment and development to sustainable land management and aims to prevent land degradation, restore soil fertility affected by droughts and desertification, as well as mitigate the effects of drought and combat the causes of desertification.

The brief provides an overview of the work of the UNCCD, and its bodies, as well as the specifics of the negotiation process.