Welcome to the nineteenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention.

This is a unique session, for reasons that we would have preferred to avoid. This is the first session of the UNCCD to be held online.

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the distancing rules that we must all follow, has forced us to meet this way. I thank you for your commitment and patience in this time of great disruption and difficulty.

While the pandemic has forced us apart, it has also emphasized the importance of the UNCCD's work.

Healthy land is essential to humanity. It is at the core of what we do, of what we are. And it is at the core of human and planetary health – by feeding us, buffering us from zoonotic diseases, regulating our climate and providing the home for crucial biodiversity.   

So, even though our work has become more difficult, we must redouble our efforts to protect, manage and restore the land – particularly with COP 15 and the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration just around the corner.

Colleagues,

At this session, you might not be negotiating decisions, or issuing agreed recommendations, as you have done in previous years.

But what you do over the next five days remains vital nonetheless.

At this session, you will discuss the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target-setting programme and the efforts of the Global Mechanism to help countries develop Transformative Projects and Programmes.