Background to the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Based on the principles underpinning the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Global Mechanism (GM) was established in 1997 under the authority of the Conference of the Parties and became operational in 1998. The GM is designed to rationalize the allocation of existing aid to combat land degradation and mobilize additional funding for UNCCD implementation. In response to the multisectoral dimensions of the CCD, the GM acts as a broker and a catalyst, drawing on and adding value to the interventions of development partners by:
- promoting cooperation and coordination;
- providing technical assistance and analysis upon request;
- mobilizing and channeling financial resources;
- collecting and disseminating information.
Developing a proposal for Global Mechanism funding
Most of GM resources are allocated in the form of facilitation grants or technical assistance to support a multitrack process, involving:
- mainstreaming the UNCCD into relevant government planning and budgetary processes;
- integrating action programme objectives into the development cooperation frameworks adopted by the various donors;
- exploring a variety of financing opportunities and instruments from which National Action Programme (NAP) implementation can benefit.
- allocations by the Conference of the Parties from the core budget of the UNCCD to meet the administrative and operational expenditures of the Global Mechanism;
- voluntary contributions from multilateral and bilateral donors and other sources, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector, to cover GM administrative and operational expenditures in relation to services rendered;
- catalytic resources in the form of trust funds or otherwise made available from bilateral and multilateral sources to finance GM interventions in support of UNCCD implementation.
Links
Global Mechanism of the UNCCD Web siteFIELD Financial Information for Land Degradation (database)