Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Action for Saint Kitts and Nevis, confirmed that the country has experienced 12 drought events over the past 20 years and is currently under an active drought warning following a 44% reduction in rainfall. Clarke said the government’s Sustainable Island State Agenda requires an...
As policymakers, academics, civil society, and youth meet at COP17, they face a reality that is increasingly difficult to ignore: drought is no longer simply a periodic natural hazard. For Hon. Vickram Bharrat, M.P., Minister of Natural Resources of Guyana, drought remains a growing threat to food security, water security, biodiversity, and economic stability. As...
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Minister Israel Bruce has emphasized the tangible reality of the phenomenon, affecting farmers, communities, livestock, and ultimately the country’s food security. Making a presentation during the Ministerial Dialogue on Drought Resilience at UNCCD COP17 on August 25, 2026, in Mongolia, which aimed to identify practical approaches to strengthen drought governance,...
Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Transformation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Hon. Israel Bruce, has lobbied for the transition from fragmented project financing to structured agricultural investment systems that can address the needs of people within small islands like his country. Speaking during a Ministerial dialogue on Innovative Financial Mechanisms for Healthy Land...
Drawing on the urgent action needed to attend to the growing impacts of drought in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD’s) focal point for St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Eric Brown, has warned that the prolonged dry periods are impacting the livelihoods of people within the Caribbean. Browne,...
Executive Director of the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), Dr. Ronen Francis, has called for stronger national data ecosystems to support countries in delivering timely, reliable and nationally owned reporting under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Dr. Francis made the call during a joint CRIC/CST plenary session at UNCCD COP17,...
Efforts to advance and equip Small Island Developing States with high-resolution geospatial data and practical tools to monitor land degradation are being made. Through the SIDS 4 LDN Project, national reporting is being strengthened, while support is being given to evidence-based land management decisions. Funded by the Global Environment Facility, the initiative is designed to...
Haiti has identified the need for coordinated resource mobilization in support of national resilience and the objectives of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This was raised by Sony Jules, one of the country’s representatives at the conference in Mongolia. Jules explained that effective collaboration with organisations like the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land...
On #Day2 of the UNCCD COP17, Caribbean representatives from Guyana, along with PISLM’s Executive Director Dr. Ronen Francis, joined over 150 participants for a GEF side event focused on results, lessons, and future opportunities to tackle land degradation and drought. The discussion highlighted achievements from the GEF-8 investment cycle and looked ahead to GEF-9, including...
Grenada has called for greater inclusion, capacity-building, and safeguards in the use of digitalization and artificial intelligence to advance sustainable land management, land restoration, and drought resilience. Delivering Grenada’s statement during discussions of the Committee on Science and Technology at the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention...
