The event will be available on webcast at https://www.msbroadcast.tv/cop14india

The fourteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 14) will be held from 2 to 13 September 2019 at the India Expo Mart Ltd., Greater Noida, India. On this occasion, an entire day will be dedicated to the theme of Drought Preparedness on 11 September.

The Drought Preparedness Day will be an occasion to present and discuss the success and challenges of the current tools, methodologies and policies supporting drought preparedness. It will showcase the achievements of the UNCCD Drought Initiative, as well as the important partnerships and frameworks such as the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) and the UN-Water. The event delivers a special call on the importance of gender-responsive drought impact mitigation measures, and aligns itself with the UNCCD Gender Action Plan, by highlighting the importance of mainstreaming the gender dimension into all activities and policies on drought preparedness to increase their effectiveness. 

Specific Objectives:

• To highlight examples and the role of integrated drought management approaches in mitigating adverse impacts of droughts;
• To strengthen multi-stakeholder coordination including UN agencies, academia, government actors, civil society and NGOs to implement integrated drought management plans;
• To provide evidence and show case examples on national drought policies based on the principles of risk reduction, with a highlight on gender equality; and
• To deliver key messages to the UNCCD COP14 on the above.

Expected outcomes:

• Synergies and cooperation strengthened among the participants including Countries, the Drought Initiative, IDMP and WASAG partners.
• Key messages identified and delivered to UNCCD COP14 on the importance of developing national drought plans and implementing integrated drought management.

Simultaneous interpretation English French 

Interprétation simultanée anglais français

AGENDA

09:30-10:00
Participants arrival and welcome coffee

10:00-12:30 
Opening video: ”The End of Famine”

Master of Ceremony and welcome address: Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary 

Opening address by:

• Ms. Maggie Sotyu, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa
• Mr. Rene Castro, Assistant Director General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, FAO 
• Mr. Howard Bamsey, Chair GWP 
• Mr. Olcay Unver, UN-Water Vice Chair 
• Ms. Samia Nkrumah, President of Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Center, Ghana 
• Mr. Jeanclaude Bidogeza, Lead Economist, Africa Risk Capacity 

Strength despite the threat - All women panel on drought resilience:

Moderator: Ms. Samia Nkrumah, President of Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Center, Ghana 

Panelists:

• Ms. Caroline King-Okumu, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
• Ms. Hindou Oumaru Ibrahim, Environmental activist, Coordinator of the Association of Peul Women and   Autochthonous Peoples of Chad
• Ms. Lorena Aguilar Revelo, Vice Minister Foreign Affairs Costa Rica

12:30–13:30
Lunch Break - Lunch, coffee and snacks will be offered

13:30-15:00
Panel Session: Policy dialogue on National Drought Plans

Moderator: Mr. Eduardo Mansur, Director, Land and Water Division, FAO 

Introductory remarks/presentation by Ms. Camilla Nordheim-Larsen, Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, Bonn

Panelists:

• Ms. Malak Shukurova, Director, Regional Environmental Centre for Caucasus, Azerbaijan 
• Ms. Angelica Hernandez Garcia, Consultant, Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies(IDEAM), Colombia
• Mr. Edward Samuriwo, Director, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Republic of Zimbabwe
• Mr. Trevor Thompson, Land Use Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries, Grenada
• Mr. Appolinaire Gnanvi, Director General, National Fund for Environment and Climate (FNEC), Benin

Launch of Drought Publications

• White Paper on Drought
• Proactive Approaches to Drought Preparedness: Where are we now and where do we go from there?
• Drought Resilience, Adaptation and Management Policy Framework- Supporting Technical Guidelines
• Drought Impact and Vulnerability Assessment: A rapid review of practices and policy recommendations: Report and Policy Brief
• Framework for the Assessment of Benefits of Action/Cost of Inaction (BACI) for Drought Preparedness

15:00–15:30
Networking Coffee

15:30–16:15
Launch and demonstration of the UNCCD-led Drought Toolbox - A joint work by UNCCD, FAO, GWP, WMO, UNEP-DHI, JRC and NDMC 

Interagency cooperation frameworks on integrated drought management

• UNCCD-led Drought Initiative, Mr. Daniel Tsegai, UNCCD
• Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), Mr. Frederik Pischke, GWP/WMO IDMP
• Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), Mr. Yo Nishimura, FAO
• UN-Water, Mr. Olcay Unver, UN-Water Vice Chair

16:15–17:00
Closing Session: Moderated by Mr. Juan Carlos Mendoza, head of Global Mechanism UNCCD)

Innovative financing mechanisms for drought: What are the options?

• Mr. Jeanclaude Bidogeza, Lead Economist, Africa Risk Capacity
• Mr. Anupam Joshi, World Bank
• Ms. Marie-Aude Even, Senior Regional Technical Specialist Agronomy Asia, IFAD

Summary and delivery of key messages regarding Drought for UNCCD COP14

• Mr. Pradeep Monga, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNCCD

The event will be available on webcast at https://www.msbroadcast.tv/cop14india