The important event produced a radical communique that called for urgent systems change. We wholeheartedly agree.
From the 11th to the 15th of July, a group of 140 leaders from around the world gathered at Caux, Switzerland, nestled in the mountains above Lake Geneva, and reflected on the state of land degradation, and the ongoing efforts to stop and reverse it. EcoAgriculture Fellow and architect of the concept of Land Degradation Neutrality Luc Gnacadja participated, along with many friends from partner organizations. The discussions were evidently highly productive, as the communique they produced is a revelation in how far thinking about land degradation and restoration has come over the last decade.
The first three points from the Communique’s call to action are so spot-on that we will share them in full here:
1. Address the urgent need for systems change – including in governance, investment, employment and conflict prevention and resolution – rather than incremental improvement. This transformation should target reshaping the context of investment in agriculture, not least in providing incentives for farmers to remove carbon from the atmosphere by restoring and afforesting land;
2. Focus action on local communities and landscapes, where much knowledge on managing land exists and where partnerships for change can be forged. It is also here that conflicts are often triggered – and can be prevented or resolved.
3. Give less emphasis to top-down ‘capacity building’ – often involving the wrong people and places – than to strengthening the capacity of those working on the ground, working in situ and meeting the needs of those directly affected by land degradation who recognise the importance of restoration.
Read the entire communique here: http://www.caux.ch/cdls-2017-communique.