Guyana to host reps. from 196 countries for UN meeting

Guyana will next January host the 17th session of the committee for the review of the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Minister of State Joseph Harmon announced Thursday.

He said representatives from 196 countries are expected to participate in the meeting.

This is the first time an event of this nature will be hosted in the Caribbean.

In hosting the meeting, Harmon said Guyana would benefit in several ways, including“improving our capacity to address land degradation issues and support national efforts to sustainably utitlise our land space.”

In addition, he said hosting the meeting will allow Guyana to develop the capacity to host international fora.

The United Nations to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. It was established in 1964.

The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations.