The Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is a subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties (COP) whose purpose is to review the implementation of the convention’s strategic framework. The CRIC is also an opportunity for the Parties to report on the actions taken at the national level to implement the convention.
The 23rd session of the CRIC (CRIC23) was held from December 1 to 5, 2025, in Panama City (Panama). Chaired by France, the topics discussed were as follows:
- Land degradation neutrality (LDN) and the establishment of voluntary LDN targets.
- Sand and dust storms.
- Land tenure.
- Evaluation of capacity-building activities.
- Taking into account the role of women and girls in sustainable land and natural resource management.
Discussions on issues related to drought took place in parallel with the official CRIC23 sessions, in order to allow negotiations on the subject to resume and avoid a lack of decision-making at the next COP of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). A consensus among the Parties has yet to be reached on how droughts should be managed at the international level.
Discussions on issues related to drought took place in parallel with the official sessions of CRIC23, in order to allow negotiations on the subject to resume and avoid a lack of decision-making at the next COP of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). A consensus between the Parties has yet to be reached on how droughts should be managed at the international level.
The new influential groups represented by the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus and the Youth Caucus, officially established at COP16 (Riyadh, December 2024), took the floor and affirmed their willingness to take part in the UNCCD negotiation process.
This event was an opportunity for the Groupe de Travail Désertification (GTD) and CARI to support the work of the elected Panel of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), strengthen collaboration with public authorities on issues related to sustainable land and natural resource management in drylands, and continue its dialogue with scientific representatives. In addition, the GTD took this opportunity to present the dynamics of the 6th edition of Désertif’actions and invite representatives of the various UNCCD stakeholders to participate and contribute to the development of a common advocacy at the Désertif’actions Summit, which will take place from March 25 to 28, 2026, in Djerba (Tunisia) ahead of the 17th COP of the UNCCD (August 2026, Mongolia).
