UNCCD COP15 - Sand and Dust Storms Day

Hosts: UNCCD, FAO

 [ Recorded webcast ]

The Sand and Dust Storm (SDS) Day at UNCCD COP 15 will serve as a platform to raise awareness about SDS, providing an opportunity for knowledge sharing and capacity development among stakeholders and partners involved in SDS related issues. They include representatives from affected countries involved in policy and decision making, implementation, science, field practitioners and local communities, as well as Coalition members. The outcomes of discussions will ultimately input to COP deliberations on SDS and other related fora. Led by FAO and UNCCD, the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms will organize the SDS Day in the Rio Conventions Pavilion.

The SDS Day will provide a launchpad for related initiatives/products/projects including the UNCCD SDS Compendium and an early look at some of FAO’s SDS outputs, as well as a discussion on resource mobilization. The SDS Day is designed to facilitate dialogue, cooperation and collaboration in SDS management in support of the implementation of major global decisions and policies including the UNCCD COP decisions related to SDS 31/COP.13 (2017) and 25/COP.14 (2019), and the provisions of UNGA resolutions on combating SDS, namely resolutions 70/195 (2015), 71/219 (2016), 72/225 (2017), 73/237 (2018), 74/226 (2019), 75/222 (2020) and 76/211 (2021), and UNEA resolutions 2/21 (2016) and 4/10 (2019).

Objectives

• Raise awareness about SDS
• Provide an opportunity for SDS knowledge sharing
• Enhance understanding of country needs related to SDS
• Identify gaps in SDS knowledge and mitigation actions
• Help integrate SDS into efforts towards land degradation neutrality

Expected Outcomes

• Enhanced understanding of current SDS mitigation policies and practices
• Generation of momentum and commitment towards SDS related actions
• Summary of draft recommendations

Tentative agenda

[PDF format - 198 Kb] 

8:00-12:30
Sharing knowledge on SDS management
Chair: Ziadat Feras (SDS Coalition)
Opening remarks: Lifeng Li, FAO
Introduction of UN Coalition Members

• Adaptation and Mitigation
  • Economic assessment of SDS in Mongolia (A.Enkh-Amgalan, CPR Mongolia) (video)
  • Good Practices for SDS source and impact mitigation (Akmal Akramkhanov, ICARDA, Stefan Strohmeier, BOKU, Mira Haddad, ICARDA/BOKU)
  • UNCCD SDS toolbox (Jeroen Van Dalen, UNCCD, Tatenda Lemann, WOCAT)
  • Towards achieving Land Degradation Neutrality, a case of Botswana land restoration projects (Lesika Basalumi, Botswana)
  • Discussion (5 mins)


• Forecasting and Early Warning
  • WMO SDS Warning and Advisory System (Alexander Baklanov, WMO)
  • SDS warning in Burkina Faso & W Africa (Ernest Werner, State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Spain) (video)
  • Regional cooperation of SDS monitoring and forecasting in GCC region (Jumaan Saad Alqahtani, GCC Regional SDS Warning Center)
  • Discussion (5 mins)


• Coffee break (30 mins)


• Health and Safety
  • Health and Dust (Charles kelly, UNCCD Consultant, Presnted on behalf of WHO) [PDF - 816 Kb]
  • Healthy landscapes for healthy people:Combating SDS with RESILAND CA+ (Paola Agostini and Elena Golub Strukova, World Bank) (video)
  • Discussion (5 mins)


• Policy and Governance
  • National SDS plan of Nigeria (Mabel Emmanuel, SDS Focal Point, Nigeria)
  • Natural resources governance and policy to address SDS impact in MENA region (Sandrine Jauffret, World Bank) (video)
  • Discussion (5 mins)


• Regional Collaboration
  • Regional SDS strategy for Central Asia (Henry Wyes, CAREC) + video to begin
  • Transboundary collaboration in Kuwait and Iraq (Ameera al Hassan, UN Habitat)
  • Sand and Dust Storms Risk Assessment in Asia and the Pacific: Findings and proposed Actions on reducing the risk (Letizia Rossano, ESCAP/ADPIM) (video)
  • Discussion (5 mins)

13:00-15:00
High level interactive dialogue
Moderator: tbc

• Opening remarks (Lifeng Li, Director Land and Water, FAO)
• Welcome remarks: Andrea Meza Murilo, Deputy Executive Secretary (UNCCD)
• Country statements (45 mins): Youngwhan Park, SDS Focal Point, Rep Korea - Olga Andreeva, Institute of Geography RAS - Abduvokhid Zakhadullaev, SDS Focal Point, Uzbekistan -
  Bahaa Glias, SDS Focial Point, Iraq - Serdar Yegu, SDS Focal Point, Turkey
• International Responses (15 mins)
  • UNCCD SDS Compendium (Edgar E. Gutierrez-Espeleta, UNCCD Special Advisor)
  • A concept note on Combating SDS to enhance food security and achieve land degradation neutrality + video to begin (Feras Ziadat/Nick Middleton, FAO)
• Panel discussion (35 mins)
  • Valeria Cruz Blancas (SDS Focal Point, Mexico)
  • Abduvokhid Zakhadullaev (SDS Focal Point, Uzbekistan)
  • Ameera al-Hassan (UN Habitat)
  • Motsomi Maletjane (UNFCCC)
  • Louise Baker (Global Mechanism, UNCCD GM)
• Closing remarks (Lifeng Li, Director Land and Water, FAO)(5 mins)

15:15-18:00
Building Resilience: SDS training
Trainers: C. Kelly (Consultant, UNCCD), Nick Middleton (FAO), Alexander Baklanov (WMO)

• Welcome and Opening (15:15-15:30)
• The nature and impact on lives and society of SDS (15:30-15:55)
• Global to National SDS Forecast and Monitoring Systems (15:55-16:20)
• Break (16:20-16:30)  
• Early Warning for SDS (16:30-17:00)
• Reducing the Occurrence of SDS Events: Source Management and Land Degradation Neutrality-based Options (17:00-17:55)
• Summary and Closing (17:55-18:00)

Selected photos

All photos by: IISD/ENB | Matthew TenBruggencate
Source: https://enb.iisd.org/rio-conventions-pavilion-unccd-cop15/16-may-2022