`X/35.`Biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands

The Conference of the Parties

1.Adopts the revised delineation of dry and sub humid lands as contained in annex I to the progress report on the thematic programmes of work⁸⁸ and requests the Executive Secretary to convey this delineation to the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) so as to inform the ongoing process on the revision of the 10-year Strategic Plan under that Convention;

2.Urges Parties and other Governments, where appropriate, to:

(a)Develop and implement, or revise existing, drought-management plans and early warning systems at all levels, including regional and subregional and basin-level management plans, taking into account the impact of drought and desertification on biodiversity and the role of biodiversity and actions to combat desertification in increasing the resilience of dry and sub-humid lands, seeking:

(i)The inclusion of risk evaluation, impact assessments and impact management; and

(ii)To direct biodiversity management for the prevention of desertification, including through the involvement of all stakeholders, particularly women and pastoralists and other indigenous and local communities and, as appropriate, in accordance with traditional community-based strategies, particularly through customary use systems;

(b)Integrate issues related to dry and sub-humid lands into relevant national strategies, plans and programmes, in particular, revised national biodiversity strategies and action plans, national action programmes to combat desertification, and national adaptation programmes of action with a view to improving and harmonizing implementation where possible, with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities;

(c)Recalling decision IX/17, continue to implement those activities contained in paragraphs 29 and 30 of the progress report and consideration of proposals for future action prepared by the Executive Secretary for the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties,⁸⁹ as well as the activities identified in decision IX/16 on possible joint activities regarding the three Rio conventions, including through regional programmes, for more effective coordination between the Rio conventions, recognizing that implementation has, thus far, been limited;

(d)Increase the extent of temperate grasslands contained in protected areas in order to address the under-representation of such protected areas;

(e)Consult with neighbouring countries and other countries in their respective subregions and regions to develop and execute collaborative drought management strategies and action plans to reduce the impact of drought and desertification on biodiversity at regional, subregional and/or basin levels;

(f)Develop and implement best-practice guides for integrated planning between dry and sub-humid lands and wetlands with a view to contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands;

(g)Create demonstration and pilot activities in sustainable land management in dry and sub-humid lands with special attention given to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in protected areas in accordance with their management objectives;

3.Takes into consideration the Hua Hin Declaration,⁹⁰ which addresses climate-change adaptation and risks to biodiversity as common challenges of countries in the Mekong River Basin;

4.Urges Parties and other Governments to establish specific national and regional targets, in accordance with national circumstances and in line with the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 to assess the implementation of the programme of work on the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands under the Convention on Biological Diversity in order to better reflect the particular challenges faced by such ecosystems and the people living in them, particularly indigenous and local communities;

5.Also urges Parties and other Governments and relevant organizations to support activities identified in national capacity self-assessments (NCSAs) that promote synergies among the three Rio conventions at the subnational, national and regional level, within dry and sub-humid lands;

6.Requests the Executive Secretary to ensure inclusion of the role of dry and sub-humid lands when conveying a proposal to develop joint activities between the three Rio conventions to the secretariats of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification as contained in decision X/33 on biodiversity and climate change;

7.Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to make use of the information contained in the note by the Executive Secretary on integration of climate change impacts and response activities within the programme of work on the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands,⁹¹ as well as in decision IX/16, with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, in their future work on integrating climate change into the implementation of the programme of work on the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands;

8.Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and, as far as possible, the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as other relevant partners, to:

(a)Explore and, as appropriate, subject to the availability of financial resources, develop and implement preferably through the means and procedures already established within each of the relevant conventions (for example, the programmes of work under the Convention on Biological Diversity) joint actions to increase cooperation between the natural and social science communities to increase the integration of biodiversity and sustainable land management and ecological restoration considerations in disaster reduction and risk management;

(b)Publish, subject to the availability of financial resources, a peer-reviewed special CBD Technical Series report on the value of dry and sub-humid lands similar to the Technical Series reports on valuing wetlands and forests, taking into account the role of pastoralists and other indigenous and local communities in the conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands and their associated traditional knowledge with a view to making the report available in time for the second Scientific Conference of the Committee on Science and Technology of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification;

(c)Subject to the availability of financial resources, develop guidance on: the use of water and land-use management, including adapted agricultural practices and the control of soil erosion, and on identifying threats that have the greatest impacts on the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands;

(d)Identify common indicators between the ten-year strategic plan of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the 2020 biodiversity target and Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and to transmit the results to the Inter-agency Task Force on Harmonized Reporting;

(e)Participate in the second Scientific Conference of the Committee on Science and Technology of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to be held in 2012, with the specific thematic topic of "Economic assessment of desertification, sustainable land management and resilience of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas";

(f)Take into consideration the results of the second International Conference on Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi-arid Regions, held in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, in August 2009,⁹² and other events of interest; and

(g)Take into consideration the crucial role of civil society and the need for building and developing their capacities in implementing measures for the sustainable management of dry and sub-humid lands and for identifying best practices in particular in Africa;

9.Also requests the Executive Secretary to expand:

(a)The existing Convention on Biological Diversity database of good practices and lessons learned with regard to linking biodiversity conservation and sustainable use to livelihoods in dry and sub-humid lands, particularly in the case of indigenous and local communities and to coordinate with the Committee on Science and Technology of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification efforts to set up a knowledge management system and with other relevant case-study databases including those developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

(b)The incentive-measures database to better include programmes in dry and sub-humid lands;

10.Noting the guidance on pastoralism contained in the good practice guide on pastoralism, nature conservation and development,⁹³ further requests the Executive Secretary to identify:

(a)In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, best practices to address conflicts between biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and pastoralism and agriculture in dry and sub-humid lands, including conflicts related to integrated water management and water shortages specifically where those conflicts impact on the water needs of biodiversity, in order to fill identified gaps in information with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities and subject to the availability of financial resources;

(b)Good-practice examples of the involvement of marginalized groups, defined based on national circumstances, in the implementation of the programme of work on the biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands, especially nomadic pastoralists and transhumant indigenous peoples.

88 UNEP/CBD/COP/10/20.

89 UNEP/CBD/COP/9/19.

90 See http://www.mrcmekong.org/mrc_news/press10/MRC-Hua-Hin-Declaration-05-Apr-10.pdf.

91 UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/14/6/Add.1.

92 Seehttp://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/icid/2010/docs/FORTALEZA_DECLARATION_ICID2010.pdf.

93 https://www.cbd.int/development/doc/cbd-good-practice-guide-pastoralism-booklet-web-en.pdf.