This 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) against desertification opened this Monday, May 9 and will be held until May 20 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. During the next two weeks, a dozen Heads of State are expected to act against the progression of desertification, and more broadly against land degradation, which is harmful to biodiversity and local populations.
Much less publicized than its “big sister” on the climate, this Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will address issues that are just as crucial at a time when the UN estimates that 40% land is degraded around the world.
In total, nine African heads of state, including Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi and Togolese Faure Gnassingbé, are expected around Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take part in the debates by videoconference.
Together, they will try to agree on concrete measures to stop the increase in desertification.
A call to action
The theme chosen for this event is “Lands. Life. Heritage: From a precarious world to a prosperous future”. It is today “a call to action to ensure that the earth, which is our source of life on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations”, underlines the UNCCD in a press release.
“The Conference will pay particular attention to the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030, the sustainability of land use in the face of the impacts of climate change and the fight against the increasing risks of disaster such as droughts, sand and dust storms and forest fires”, specifies the UN institution.
In recent years, the African continent has been particularly affected by desertification, particularly in its Sahelian strip. Moreover, the question of the Great Green Wall, a pharaonic project which aims to restore one hundred million hectares of arid lands in Africa by 2030 on a strip of 8,000 km from Senegal to Djibouti, should in particular be addressed in during this COP 15.