The Conference of the Parties,
1. Welcomes the “Land, Life and Legacy Declaration” with appreciation;
2. Decides to include the “Land, Life and Legacy Declaration” as an annex to this decision.
Annex
Land, Life and Legacy Declaration
We, the Ministers and Representatives gathered for the high-level segment at the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, held from 9–10 May 2022 in Abidjan, at the invitation of the Government of Côte d'Ivoire,
1. Invite Parties to pursue a systemic approach to land conservation and restoration as well as to the sustainable land management of all types of degraded ecosystems, recognizing that a significant portion of all land is degraded,11 and thus encourage Parties to avoid, reduce, and reverse land degradation by accelerating the implementation of existing national commitments to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, taking into account the connectivity of ecosystems;
2. Also invite Parties to strive for more effective partnerships, financing, and cooperation at all levels, among the Rio conventions and other relevant mechanisms and processes, including exploring ways to catalyse more synergies at the national level between the individual action plans of the Rio conventions;
3. Further invite development partners, international financial institutions, the private sector and other stakeholders to boost investments and technological and technical support, as appropriate, for the implementation of the Convention and the achievement of land degradation neutrality;
4. Welcome the second edition of the Global Land Outlook which demonstrates that the mismanagement of land resources – soil, water, and biodiversity – represents a threat to humanity and the planet, and that sustainable land management and land restoration are a proven and cost-effective strategy that offers multiple pathways towards an inclusive, sustainable recovery, and resilient economies, societies, and ecosystems;
5. Urge Parties to take a proactive, comprehensive, and holistic approach towards sand and dust storms source mitigation and drought impact mitigation, adaptation and resilience, including through responsive policy frameworks that incorporate early warning systems and timely interventions, scientific collaboration, and multi-stakeholder partnerships which should be sustained with adequate levels of finance;
6. Acknowledge the new strategy of the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility on land degradation, and recognize the importance of providing guidance to facilitate the successful implementation of the three integrated programmes of the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility, focusing particularly on desertification/land degradation, and drought;
7. Call upon all Parties and stakeholders to move towards more sustainable food systems;
8. Stress the importance of promoting secure tenure rights and access to land for all, in particular groups in vulnerable situations, as well as the need to further mainstream gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls into the development of desertification/land degradation and drought-related policies and activities within the national context;
9. Reaffirm the contribution of sustainable land management and land restoration to improving the living conditions of affected communities, and as a means of preventing forced migration and displacement;
