Policy workshop titled “Weaving a Tapestry of Environmental Policy: Can Civil Society Bring the Three Rio Conventions Together?” at GLF Africa 2024
On the 17th of September 2024, during the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Africa Hybrid Conference, the UNCCD Youth Caucus contributed to a policy workshop titled “Weaving a Tapestry of Environmental Policy: Can Civil Society Bring the Three Rio Conventions Together?” in Nairobi, Kenya. This engaging session was moderated by Laura Mukhwana, the coordinator of GLFx Nairobi, and featured prominent youth leaders and environmental advocates as speakers including Nancy Barisoa, the Gender and Land co-facilitator of the UNCCD Youth Caucus, Kevin Lunzalu, the co-founder of the Kenyan Youth Biodiversity Network, and Brian Kithinji, Executive Director of Policy Action Initiative. These young leaders discussed the integration of the Rio Conventions—Climate Change (UNFCCC), Biodiversity (CBD), and Desertification (UNCCD)—and the role of civil society in advancing unified environmental policies to address global challenges.
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, connecting people with a shared vision to create productive, profitable, equitable & resilient landscapes led by the Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF). The GLF Africa 2024 conference which took place in person in Nairobi, Kenya and online focused on key topics such as sustainable agrifood systems, landscape restoration, partnerships, and the just transition towards more equitable environmental governance. The workshop session provided a platform for young and seasoned experts to share insights on how the Rio Conventions can work in synergy to create meaningful, collective action on climate, biodiversity, and desertification.
The Rio Conventions—UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), and UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)—were established at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to address the interconnected global environmental challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. At the heart of the UNCCD Youth Caucus is the belief that youth have a vital role to play in bridging the gap between these conventions. The speakers shared their vision of a future where the three conventions not only work together but also create pathways for civil society, especially youth, to influence environmental governance.
As these young leaders look toward this year’s Conferences of the Parties (COP), they shared a common hope: to see youth perspectives deeply embedded in the global discourse, and for civil society to lead the change in driving ambitious, inclusive, and just environmental policies that address the triple planetary crisis. We stand alongside them in solidarity, wishing them the best as we prepare for the upcoming UNCCD COP16, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2–13, 2024!
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