The Rio Conventions—on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification are intrinsically linked, operating in the same ecosystems and addressing interdependent issues. Land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change are three different faces of the same central challenge: the increasingly dangerous impact of our choices on the health of our natural environment. These three threats cannot be tackled in isolation – they each deserve the highest policy priority and must be addressed together. Radical transformation of land use is necessary to combat the climate, nature and food crises.

Further, these three challenges are related to the food systems, particularly the way our land is used and managed to produce food. Mitigating and adapting to climate change, halting biodiversity loss, combating desertification, and providing nutritious food, depend on restoring landscapes and maintaining soil health.

UNCCD COP 15, UNCBD COP 15, UNFCCC COP-27 and Stockholm+50 taking place this year will set the agenda for a decade of action. These global events will provide key opportunities to amplify the role of food systems in achieving global and national climate, restoration, and food security goals. A better alignment of the three conventions is urgently needed, implementation on the ground based on committed targets such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, the National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions (NBSAPS), - the implementation mechanism of the UNCBD and the Land Degradation Neutrality Targets (LDN) under the UNCCD.

Speakers will discuss how alignment of the Rio Conventions could be improved and how Land restoration could contribute to leverage the synergies of implementation and support food systems transformation actions.

Food Day Agenda

CIFOR-ICRAF speaker

Tony Simons

Directeur général du Centre mondial d’agroforesterie (ICRAF) et directeur exécutif du CIFOR-ICRAF