19 November 2008: Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the
UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) addressed the African
Conference of Ministers in Charge of Environment on Climate Change for
Post-2012, and underscored the urgency of incorporating land and soil into the
climate change dialogue.
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14 November 2008: The first Special Session of the Committee
on Science and Technology (CST S-1) and the seventh session of the Committee
for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 7) of the UN
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) convened in Istanbul, Turkey, from
3-14 November 2008.
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29 October 2008: Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) told a news conference at UN
Headquarters, NY, US, that “the nexus between land degradation and climate
change is clear,” with global warming being likely to lead to more extreme
weather events, which could lead to soil erosion and loss of land cover.
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27 October 2008: The Second Committee of the UN General
Assembly considered, on 27 October 2008, the Secretary-General's note on
Implementation of UN environmental conventions, transmitting the report
submitted by the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and the report of the
Secretary-General on implementation of the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) and the outcome of the observance of the International
Year of Deserts and Desertification (Document A/63/294).
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9 October 2008: The UN University (UNU) is hosting the
International Conference on Environment, Forced Migration and Social
Vulnerability, which is taking place in Bonn, Germany, from 9-11 October 2008.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Environment Programme
(UNEP), and International Organization for Migration (IOM) are among the
Conference's organizing partners. Participants have been asked to capture the
current state of research and debate on the issue, and to conclude with
recommendations for moving forward.
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8 October 2008: In a statement to mark the International Day
of Disaster Reduction, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja highlighted that action on climate change
mitigation and adaptation must consider managing risks to drought in a global
coordinated approach, and said the Hyogo Framework for action is a platform to
achieve these considerations.
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13 August 2008: The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has launched a new webpage on the
interrelationship between land and climate. The webpage highlights that soil
can make a difference in addressing climate change issues, and presents
information on land and climate change, land degradation and poverty, energy
security, food security, and UNCCD processes to address climate change and
soil.
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21 July 2008: The Global Mechanism (GM) of the UN Convention
to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced that it has been invited by the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to join an advisory
group assisting with the development of a Carbon Fund/Facility.
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22 July 2008: The Bureau of the Committee on Science
and Technology (CST) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has
selected the ‘Drylands Science for Development' consortium as its partner to
jointly organize a scientific conference for the CST's 2009 session.
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