Desertification and Drought Day 2024, “United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future.”, will spotlight the future of sustainable land stewardship. The theme is a global call to mark the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD – the sole legally binding treaty to manage and restore the world’s land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. As the European Union is a key actor in the combat against Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD), the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is co-hosting an event, together with the European Commission (DG INTPA), to observe this day.
- the EU's international role | international cooperation
- Monday 17 June 2024, 12:00 - 14:00 (CEST)
- Brussels, Belgium
Practical information
- When
- Monday 17 June 2024, 12:00 - 14:00 (CEST)
- Where
- InfoPointBrussels, Belgium
- Languages
- English, French
- Organisers
- International Partnerships InfoPoint
Description
Up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded, affecting close to half of humanity. Further land degradation will lead to escalating energy and food costs, with long-term socio-economic impacts. Desertification and Drought Day is a pivotal moment for raising global awareness and mobilising all parts of society in support of sustainable land stewardship. Please join us, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission (DG INTPA) in observing this important day together.
A pre-recorded video message by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim THIAW will kick us off, together with welcoming remarks by Luc JACOBS (Special Envoy for Climate & Environment, Belgium) and Aurélie GODEFROY (Deputy Head of Unit, INTPA F2-Environment, European Commission).
The event will then feature a bespoke screening of the documentary, ‘Le Périmètre de Kamsé’ (12:10 – 13:00), on community-led efforts against desertification in Burkina Faso:
“In the north of Burkina Faso, desertification is eating away at the land and immigration is emptying the villages. In Kamsé, the remaining inhabitants have embarked on a pharaonic project with tools from another era: digging a network of dikes and ponds in the oven, using shovels and pickaxes, and then planting thousands of trees to cross the desert to make conquered areas green and fertile. A battle fought by women, while a new threat, this time from jihadists, looms on the horizon. Long shots, flush with the dry ground, bodies emerging in the blinding heat, a dike rising, a place transformed. In Kamsé it is hoped that those who have emigrated will return.”
A subsequent panel discussion (13:00-14:00) will highlight the work of two NGO’s (Humundi and CARI) and programmes that Belgium and the European Commission support on the topic. The challenges and opportunities of COP16 of the UNCCD (Dec. 2024 in Riyadh) will also be addressed.
Please also join us for a lunch reception at Kamilou Arts-Loi following the InfoPoint (14:00-15:00).
Speakers
- Aurélie Godefroy, Deputy Head of Unit, INTPA F2- Environment, Sustainable Natural Resources, European Commission
- Luc Jacobs, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium)
- Ibrahim Thiaw (pre-recorded video message), Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNCCD
- François Grenade, Advocacy officer, Humundi / ex-SOS Faim (Belgium)
- Manon Albagnac, Chargée de mission Sahel et Désertification, Cari, Member of the UNCCD CSO Panel (France)
- Claude Croizer, Environment expert, Enabel (Belgium)
- Bernard Crabbé, Team Leader Circular Economy, Environmental Mainstreaming and Land, INTPA F2- Environment, Sustainable Natural Resources, European Commission
Language: English
Q&A session languages: English and French
Registration
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