NEASPEC secretariat hosted an international workshop on combating desertification and land degradation (DLD) jointly with the State Forestry Administration of China in July 2015 in Beijing. DLD threatens over a quarter of Chinese landmass and almost all Mongolian grasslands. It is also closely linked to poverty, health and livelihoods of a large population in the subregion.

At the workshop, the participants representing governments, international organizations, academia, NGOs and the private sector discussed and adopted a tool named the North-East Asia Multi-stakeholder Plan (NEAMSP) designed to facilitate exchange of information and coordination among stakeholders, which will help address the fragmented nature of the current DLD work in the subregion. The MSP can also be used to supplement existing multilateral mechanisms in the subregion and support countries as well as individual stakeholders in their review and planning of DLD activities. The participants recognized the added value of the MSP and agreed to develop it further so that it can be a practical tool for information sharing and for arranging future discussions on a regular basis.  

► Programme

Session 1. Review of Desertification and Land Degradation (DLD) in North-East Asia

• 1.1 Ms. Xiaoxia Jia
• 1.2 "Desertification and Land Degradation in Mongolia" - Ms. Mandakh Nyamtseren
• 1.3 "Japan's Effort to Combat Desertification" - Mr. Jun Hirano
• 1.4 "Efforts of the ROK on Combating Desertification" - Mr. Kwangho Baek
• 1.5 Ms. Rong Ding
• 1.6 Mr. Shihai Lv
• 1.7 Mr. Duoqing Man

Session 2. Review of Joint Activities to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation

• 2.1 "NEASPEC and DLD" - Mr. Sangmin Nam
• 2.2 "Management of Desertified Area Against Dust and Sandstorm" - Mr. Gilsang Jeong
• 2.3 "Joint Research on Dust and Sandstorms among China, Korea and Japan" - Mr. Ken Yoshikawa
• 2.4 "NEAMSP for Combating Desertification and Land Degradation" - Mr. Byong Hyon Kwon
• 2.5 "Activities for Combating Desertification and Achieving Local Sustainability in Mongolia" - Mr. Jae Kwang Ko
• 2.6 "Report of Ecological Improvement Project on Land Desertification Control" - Ms. Bojie Chen
• 2.7 "Alkali-lake Desertification in China: Background & Process" - Mr. Sangho Park
• 2.8 Mr. Chengguo Yin

Session 3. DLD and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in North-East Asia

• 3.1 "Land Degradation Neutrality" - Mr. Youlin Yang
• 3.2 "Operationalizing Zero Net Land Degradation in NEA" - Mr. Feng Wang
• 3.3 "Government Policy for Combating Desertification in Mongolia" - Mr. Bayarbat Dashzeveg
• 3.4 "ICRAF Ecosystem Restoration Program in NEA" - Ms. Lingling Shi
• 3.5 "The Sustainable Development of Dryland by Application of PPP" - Ms. Nanqing Jiang

► NEAMSP Concept Note

► Meeting Report