Organized by: United Nations Environment Programme, Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP (CYMG) and UNCCD Youth Caucus​
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The escalating challenges posed by desertification, land degradation, and drought demand urgent and coordinated international responses. UNEA Resolution 6/14, adopted during the Sixth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), calls for strengthening global efforts to combat desertification, restore degraded land, promote sustainable land management, and enhance drought resilience. As a complementary instrument, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) provides a robust platform for advancing land degradation neutrality (LDN) and supporting sustainable development goals.
Youth, as key stakeholders in shaping the future, play a critical role in driving innovative solutions and advocating for sustainable policies. However, their voices are often underrepresented in international policy discussions.
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The Youth Policy Session ‘Youth Uniting for Policy Coherence: Bridging the Gap in Global Desertification and Land Restoration Efforts’ will serve as an important space for young policy advocates, activists and stakeholders to engage in substantive discussions aimed at achieving policy coherence and fostering cross-institutional and multi-stakeholder collaboration in strengthening global efforts to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought, while promoting sustainable land management and conservation. This session is expected to elevate youth voices in the implementation of UNEA Resolution 6/14, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and other relevant frameworks, with a focus on advancing land degradation neutrality and enhancing drought resilience. By facilitating intergenerational dialogue and cross-sectoral collaboration, the session will underscore the importance of innovative approaches and actionable strategies to integrate youth-driven solutions into international policies, ensuring that young people are empowered as vital contributors to a more sustainable and resilient future.
Objectives
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Elevate Youth Voices: Empower young people to actively contribute to the implementation of UNEA Resolution 6/14, UNCCD goals, and other related international frameworks, ensuring that their perspectives are integrated into policy discussions.
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Foster Policy Coherence: Facilitate substantive discussions aimed at achieving policy coherence between UNEA Resolution 6/14, UNCCD, and other global initiatives to combat desertification, restore degraded land, and promote sustainable land management.
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Promote Intergenerational Dialogue: Create a platform for intergenerational dialogue, enabling the exchange of ideas and experiences between young people and senior policymakers, experts, and practitioners.
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Enhance Cross-Sectoral Collaboration: Strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration by bringing together stakeholders from various sectors, including agriculture, water management and biodiversity conservation, to explore innovative approaches to land restoration and drought resilience.
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Advance Youth-Driven Solutions: Highlight and promote youth-driven solutions and best practices that contribute to land degradation neutrality, sustainable land management, and drought resilience, ensuring that these solutions are recognized and scaled up at the international level.
Expected Outcomes
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Policy Coherence: An enhanced understanding of the synergies between UNEA Resolution 6/14, the UNCCD, and other relevant international instruments, fostering the development of more coherent and aligned policies across intergovernmental processes. Additionally, the session aims to deepen the understanding of the role of the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) in consolidating efforts across the United Nations system to ensure resilience against drought, desertification, and land degradation in relation to the UN decade of ecosystem restoration.
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Increased Awareness: Greater awareness of the importance of integrating youth-driven solutions into international efforts to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought, ensuring that young people are recognized as vital contributors to sustainability and resilience.
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Youth Recommendations: Development of a set of youth recommendations for the effective implementation of UNEA Resolution 6/14, with a focus on achieving policy coherence with UNCCD, and other relevant frameworks.
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Strengthened Partnerships: Formation of new partnerships between youth organizations, policymakers, EMG members, and other stakeholders to support the implementation of sustainable land management and drought resilience initiatives.