UNCCD COP15

The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the largest and most influential event on how governments are handling land.

For two weeks in May of 2022, leaders ranging from presidents, ministers, and financiers to heads of the community and youth representatives gathered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire for the COP15 to strategize how to limit land degradation, raise funds for sustainable land management, and further the land rights of marginalized groups, women and young people.

GLF at COP15 along with TMG Research organized a series of side events in English and French, white papers, Q&As with experts, and more. Viewed by thousands of people, the side events provided critical insights on some of the most critical issues of our time: desertification, land degradation, and drought.

United for land restoration

Africa Week marked the moment in which the UNCCD became officially welcomed as GLF’s latest Charter Member. “The UNCCD Secretariat and the GLF have been working closely on advancing our shared vision of land restoration as a prerequisite for bringing about a sustainable future for all,” says UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. “I appreciate the support and commitment that the GLF has brought to the land agenda and look forward to taking our collaboration to the next level, starting with the UNCCD COP15 in Côte d’Ivoire.”

Mr. Thiaw has almost 40 years of experience in sustainable development, environmental governance, and natural resource management. He served in many senior roles in United Nation Agencies. Before joining the United Nations, he was the Regional Director for West Africa, and later Acting Director General, of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

He’s a great advocate of the potential drylands hold against the dominant narratives of drylands as unproductive of biodiversity and economic benefits.

Learn Everything you need to know about drylands 🦓