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UNCCD COP11 Namibia
16-27 September 2013
“Soils and Law: the Legal Aspects of Land Degradation Neutrality”
Event by the IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) World
Commission on Environmental Law
Thursday 19 September 2013
15.15 - 16.30, Rio Conventions Pavilion (marquee 3)
Introduction
The crucial role of soils in promoting sustainable development has received increased
attention at a political level in recent years. Key activities include the Berlin Call for Action of
September 2011,1 and the first Global Soil Week in November 2012 in Berlin. 2 The
conclusions drawn at the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012 are of pre-eminent importance.
The Rio 20+ Outcome Document The Future We Want recognizes the need for urgent action
to reverse land degradation (LD) and to strive towards a LD - neutral world.3 The objective
of a “Land Degradation Neutral World’ has received wide political support.
The Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
prepared the Policy Brief “Zero Net Land Degradation, A Sustainable Development Goal for
Rio+20 to secure the contribution of our planet’s land and soil to sustainable development,
including food security and poverty eradication”, which emphasises that the time is ripe to
agree on a Sustainable Development Goal on Zero Net Land Degradation and other aspects
of sustainable use and protection of soils, to ensure the availability of productive land for
present and future generations.4 Amongst the various actions proposed by the UNCCD
Secretariat in its Policy Brief to Rio+20, to be taken by the international community to
promote Zero Net Land Degradation (ZNLD) is to consider an additional legal instrument
such as a Protocol on ZNLD to the UNCCD.5
Purpose
The purpose of this IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) side event is
to maintain the momentum established by the UNCCD Secretariat Policy Brief for Rio +20
for a special legal instrument to implement ZNLD and achieve various Sustainable
Development Goals. The special legal instrument under the UNCCD will support the 10Yr
Strategy. The side event will supplement the momentum achieved at Global Soil Week 2012
and the Korea special event on land degradation neutrality in June 2013 where the benefits
of a special legal instrument to support ZNLD were discussed.
Objective
The objective of this side event is to discuss various options for an additional legal
international instrument to achieve ZNLD in order to empower the international community to
Culminating with the Berlin Common Statement “Protecting soils for our Common Future: A call for
action”, of September 2011.
2 See globalsoilweek.org
3 See http://www.uncsd2012.org/futurewewant.html
4 UNCCD Secretariat Policy Brief May 2012, Zero Net Land Degradation A Sustainable Development
Goal for Rio+20 To secure the contribution of our planet’s land and soil to sustainable development,
including food security and poverty eradication, Bonn.
5 UNCCD Secretariat Policy Brief May 2012, Zero Net Land Degradation A Sustainable Development
Goal for Rio+20 To secure the contribution of our planet’s land and soil to sustainable development,
including food security and poverty eradication, Bonn.
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act with the speed and scale required to address LD and the sustainable use of soils. The
setting of ZNLD targets by individual countries could be proposed, for example as a
percentage of arable land in their jurisdiction or regions within their jurisdiction. ZNLD,
defined in the UNCCD Policy Brief, means “The achievement of land degradation neutrality,
whereby land degradation is either avoided or off set by land restoration. Promoting the zero
net land degradation target would secure the currently available productive land for the use
of present and future generations”6.The concept of Sustainable Use of Soils has been
defined by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as “the use of soils in a
manner that preserves the balance between the processes of soil formation and soil
degradation, while maintaining the ecological functions and needs of soil”.7
The achievement of land degradation neutrality, whereby LD is either avoided or off set by
land restoration and promoting the ZNLD target would secure the currently available
productive land for the use of present and future generations. The UNCCD Policy Brief
expresses that while completely halting LD and drought by 2030 may be difficult, setting a
target of ZNLD by 2030 is realistic if some of the degraded lands can be restored while nondegraded land keep their status quo.8 It further states that one of the key actions to be
taken by the international community to ensure progress towards ZNLD is to agree on a new
legal instrument under the Convention on ZNLD, as the basis for a global policy and
monitoring framework to focus efforts and empower the international community to act with
the speed and scale required to address this crucial problem. It emphasizes that such an
instrument could incorporate the setting of ZNLD and soil targets by individual countries,
e.g., as a percentage of arable land in their jurisdiction or regions within their jurisdiction.9
Format
The presenters will address a range of topics, including: the UNCCD policy perspective;
international context and development of the legal aspects of ZNLD policy; options and legal
elements of an Annex/Protocol; national application of an Annex/Protocol; and the
biophysical and ecological elements of ZNLD to consider in a legal instrument.
Presenters will outline how an additional Annex or Protocol to the UNCCD could incorporate
emerging economic instruments, such as payments for ecosystem services to be used in
preventing degradation of non-degraded land, as well as supporting the restoration of
already degraded land (for example, Parties to the Convention could adopt an Annex to the
Convention following the procedure set out in Article 30 and under Articles 31(1) and (2)).
Speakers will outline how the primary purpose of such an Annex/Protocol is to establish a
process to implement the concept of ZNLD as outlined in the UNCCD Policy Brief. They will
mention that such an instrument should also provide for the development of policies,
guidelines and mechanisms to implement ZNLD at national and regional levels and for legal
frameworks and guidelines for national and sub-national policies to promote ZNLD and the
sustainable use of soils.
The event will provide a valuable opportunity for COP attendees to gain a more thorough
understanding of the need to focus on the international and national legal aspects of
achieving a land degradation neutral world.
A discussion paper on the concept of an additional legal instrument under the UNCCD for
LDN will be distributed to participants as part of the documentation for the side event and as
a basis for the Discussion Session of the side event.
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UNCCD Secretariat Policy Brief p11.
Hannam, I.D with B.W Boer. 2002. Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Sustainable Soils: A
Preliminary Report. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. pxiii
8 UNCCD Secretariat Policy Brief p17.
9 UNCCD Secretariat Policy Brief p 54.
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UNCCD COP11 Namibia
16-27 September 2013
“Soils and Law: the Legal Aspects of Land Degradation Neutrality”
Event by the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL)
Thursday 19 September 2013
15.15 - 16.30, Rio Conventions Pavilion (Marquee 3)
Agenda
Presentations
1. Mr Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary UNCCD - Opening Statement
2. Prof Ben Boer, IUCN WCEL Deputy Chair - International Context and Development of the
Legal Aspects of the ZNLD Policy
3. Dr Ian Hannam, Chair, IUCN WCEL Specialist Group on Sustainable Soil and
Desertification - Proposed Options and details of an Annex/Protocol
4. Mr Harald Ginzky, UBA, Germany - Discussion on Appropriate Instruments
5. Sergio Zelaya, Coordinator, Policy Advocacy on Global Issues and Platforms, UNCCD
Secretariat - UNCCD Policy Perspective and Next Steps
6. Dr Jonathan Davies, Coordinator, IUCN Global Drylands Initiative – Physical and
Ecological aspects of ZNLD to consider with legal instruments
Discussion Session – led by Professor Ben Boer IUCN WCEL
A Discussion Paper will be distributed to participants as part of the documentation for the
side event.