[New Delhi, India, September 2nd, 2019] After being recently accredited as official observer organization, the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) is sending its first official delegation to participate in the Conference of Parties 14 (COP) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in New Delhi. 

25 students are engaging in side-events and following the negotiations during the weeks from the 2nd to the 13th of September.

The IFSA delegates take an active part in different working groups of the Civil Society and are supporting several activities like communication and capacity building. Moreover, IFSA runs a students’ and young professionals storytelling workshop to further highlight the role of the youth in facing and solving global problems. The theme “Youth Unison to unlock opportunities, restore land and sustain life” will bring together up to 50 participants to discuss the way forward in addressing desertification and soil degradation. The 1.5 hour workshop will take place on Saturday, 7th of September.

Oindrila Basu, Head of the International Policy Commission of IFSA, is leading the delegation’s involvement throughout these two weeks: “We are extremely excited to be here. Desertification, despite being a crucial topic, is often not put at the centre of the discussion. As youth in forestry, we have a great stake in combating the current trend of soil degradation worldwide. But to do so, we believe education of youth is paramount.” she said.

The UNCCD is the only internationally legally binding framework to address desertification.

The problem is directly affecting 250 million people and threatening the well-being of a staggering 3.2 billion people worldwide. Meanwhile, over 75% of the earth’s land surface is substantially and more than one third is critically degraded.*

For more information follow this link.

*Source of Information: UNCCD.int & IPBES 2019