Ulaanbaatar Technical Dialogue on Rio Synergies - UNCCD COP17

So, thank you very much everyone. We really appreciate, we know that many of you are busy, that you're in the middle of negotiations, and so we thank you very much for taking your time, taking time out of your busy agenda to be with us here. Just a couple of little announcements before we get started. First of all, sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Stuart McGuinness. I am the deputy director of the table, but I say I'm really think we the the the the cop presidencies and the The G20 Global Land Initiative and IUCN are really delighted just how many of you have responded to come and participate in this dialogue. So it'll be my job to make sure that we hear as many voices as possible. So as I say, so we'll be a little bit informal. When the lunch comes, just jump up and grab it. And we will at the end of the At the end of this session, we will take a group photograph for those of you who are still here. We appreciate that some of you may have to leave. The other thing I will say is we will really try and get as much feedback from the parties as possible. Thank you very much for the international organisations that have come. I will also try and get through as many of you as possible and hear your responses, but I'd also ask for a little bit of understanding. 00, so it may not be possible to hear all your inputs. So with that, let me welcome you all to the Ulaanbaatar Technical Dialogue on Synergies. I thank you again for joining us today. There-- I'm sorry, one more logistical thing I forgot to mention. This is being live streamed and there is also interpretation available. We'll work in English, or at least most of us whose mother tongue is in English or who's fluent in English will work in English, but there is interpretation available in Mongolian, French and Spanish. Is that correct? Thank you. I would now really, and there are headsets. Yeah, there's headsets where at the back of the room. Okay, thank you. So now down to business. So first of all, I would really like to give a sincere thanks to the Turkey COP31 presidency and the support from our friends and colleagues in the G20 Global Land Initiative, which is, as you know, is hosted at the UNCCD. and my colleagues from IUCN who support the ENACT partnership for convening this technical dialogue. I think really in many ways it's what better time to talk about synergies across the Rio Conventions than at the first COP of this triple COP year in the company and with the support of the COP presidencies. I just maybe just as a point of information, I also just would like to highlight that I did mention an act. Some of you will be familiar, some of you are partners of an act, some of you are not, but just just to let you know what an act is, it is informal track two initiative that that they Egypt and Germany launched at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh. Um, and it really, and ENACT stands for Enhancing Nature Based Solutions for Accelerate, to accelerate climate transformation. Um, and there, a, at the minute there, I say there's, there's, I think there's about 20, 20 parties who are members of ENACT. The focus is really, it was set there to really sort of identify how we could use nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches to really to build synergies and to move forward on climate action. And as I say, my colleague Ali Razaz Rizvi supports the ENACT partnership as secretary. So that's just for information. the ulambator technical dialogue builds on the strategic Antalya dialogue that was convened by the government of turkia in May 2026 as a preparatory dialogue for the Rio Synergies component of UNFCCC COP31 action agenda I'm not going to go into much detail because we have got on my on my left we have got the expert on this who will will give us a little bit more information on that. But I say just, and we'll have a dedicated presentation on this in a few minutes. We've all heard the word synergies used countless times over the years and speeches, decisions, et cetera. I think the challenge before us is no longer whether we recognize the importance of synergies, but rather whether we can actually translate that commitment and that interest that I think many share into real practical action. The decisions under the UNCCD and CBD acknowledge the need for integrated approaches such as nature-based solutions and other ecosystem-based approaches. And yet I think that the true test of the Rio synergies is not whether they are referenced in international agreements, but whether they can be operationalized at national and subnational level, where policy becomes action and global commitments meet local realities. So the focus of this dialogue is really we want to look and explore from a bottom-up perspective. There are other processes underway that are looking at actually how we can bridge the synergies discussion at an international level. And the idea behind this is to complement this by looking at what is happening, to hear from you as parties on what you are doing. We know there is, there's synergistic actions out there using approaches like nature-based solutions already trying to link some of these commitments. So we'd really like to, this dialogue process is to really try and understand that, see if what what we can learn from that, how we can profile it, understand maybe some of the challenges, and also I think just to get from you whether you think this is a good idea that as we start, as we try to find ways of moving the synergies discussion forward, whether we can, whether this is a useful contribution. the dialogue process will continue through Yerevan and will culminate in Antalya. So, as I say, what we want to do, and I'm going to wrap up very soon, we want to hear directly from you. We want to hear how you facilitate nationally coherent actions in land restoration, biodiversity and climate change. we'd like to hear what you think is working and what can be built upon and indeed what type of implementation gaps and challenges persist and how we can overcome that. There's a lot in that, but one thing I will ask is, because there's quite a lot of people around the table, if we can really keep our interventions short and focused. I say this won't be the last opportunity, we will have a series of these dialogues and we will try and follow up in the intervening period. So maybe with that, I will say that it's my pleasure now to give the floor to our COP presidencies to formally open this dialogue. And we'll begin with the opening remarks from the convener of the Ulaanbaatar technical dialogue, the Turkey COP31 presidency, and It's my pleasure to give the floor over to Professor Dr. Kasim Yenigun from the General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in the Republic of Turkey. So Dr. Kasim, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, thank you very much. Mr. Stewart, Deputy of IUCN, thank you very much. Distinguished delegates, partners, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to extend my warm greetings to all of you. I also have the honor of conveying the greetings, Excellency Mr. Murat Kurum, COP31 President Designate, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Turkey, and as I said, COP31 President Designate. On behalf of Turkey, I would like to thank all our partners for bringing us together here in Ulaanbaatar at this important moment. As Turkey, coordinating the Rio Synergies team under the COP31 action agenda, we believe we have reached an important point. For many years, we have discussed the connections between climate change, biodiversity laws, desertification and land degradation. Today, we no longer need to prove that these challenges are interconnected. The question is how we act together. Countries have already made important commitments under the three Rio Conventions through their climate and biodiversity, land degradation neutrality targets, and national strategies. So we are not starting from zero. And importantly, we are not proposing new obligations, new reporting burdens, or another institutional structure. Our objective is much simpler. Connect what already exists and turn synergy into implementation. This is the idea behind the Rio Synergies Group for Action, which Turkey aims to advance towards COP31. We envision it as a voluntary, country-driven actions for implementation, bringing together countries, international organizations, financial institutions, civil society, science, and local actors. Our call to countries is clear. Join us with action. Identify one area where climate, biodiversity and land objectives can be advanced together. Build on your existing national commitments and bring forward a concrete national flagship action. We are not asking every country to do the same thing. We are encouraging every country to show what integrated implementation can mean in its own national context. To our international organizations and UN partners, we ask you to support countries make this possible. We would like to have an action group where each country will reveal its own capacity and create synergy. Bring your expertise, methodologies and capacity building support together. Help countries connect their own planning, implementation, monitoring and investment across the three Rio conventions. And to financial institutions and development partners, our message is equally important. Help us turn integrated solutions into investable and implementable action. A restored landscape can simultaneously strengthen biodiversity, include drought resilience, support livelihoods, and contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation. The journey from Ulaanbaatar to Yerevan and then to Antalya to COP31 gives us a unique opportunity. But Turkey doesn't want to build this group for action. We want countries to shape their own actions. We want international organizations to strengthen it. We want financial institutions to enable it. And we want action on the ground to define its success. Our ambition for COP31 is clear. to move Rio synergies from dialogue to implementation, from separate commitments to synergistic action, and from ambition to remarkable results. Turkey is ready to facilitate this process. We invite you not simply to support the idea, but to become part of the action. Bring your experience, bring your partnership, and most importantly, bring an action that we can build up together. Let us build the Rio Synergies Group for action together. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Professor Yenigun. Now, our next remarks will be from Australia, the COP31 presidency for negotiations, which of course will go hand in hand with action. And it's my pleasure to give the floor to Lalita Kapoor, the charge d'affaires from the Australian embassy here in Ulaanbaatar and the head of delegation for Australia, Lalita.

Thank you. Thank you to the chair and also to my colleague from Turkey. Good afternoon, everybody. So I would first like to thank the government of Turkey, the G20 Global Land Initiative, and the ENACT partnership for bringing us all together today. This is a unique opportunity for us to share our collective knowledge, exchange experiences, and foster constructive discussion on synergies between the three Rio conventions. So I extend this thanks to all of you here today for engaging in this timely discussion. Distinguished delegates, the 2026 Rio Trio year comes at a critical moment. Across the world, communities are experiencing the growing impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought, biodiversity loss and climate change. As we pursue our respective commitments, Under the Rio Conventions, we must remain coordinated, focused and effective. The reality we face of increasing pressures on climate, nature and land alongside tightening fiscal environments demands that we work not only harder, but of course smarter. Delivering the goals of the Rio Conventions will require truly whole-of-society approaches, bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities. This underscores the importance of this gathering today, the first in a series of three technical dialogues on Rio synergies to be followed at CBD COP 17 in Armenia and UNFCCC COP 31 in Turkey. So success will depend on our ability to work together and learn from one another across conventions, across institutions and across sectors. These are platforms where we can share experience, expertise and opportunities and they're essential to accelerating action and to strengthening coordination in response to the interconnected global challenges we face. As President of negotiations for UNFCCC COP31, Australia is working in lockstep with Turkey to deliver an impactful COP31. Under our partnership, Turkey will lead the COP31 action agenda while Australia will lead the negotiations. And together, we are working closely to drive progress across all elements of the climate agenda. This innovative partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing global climate action and demonstrates the power of international cooperation in addressing common challenges. Australia is committed to working with all parties to deliver outcomes that support implementation, accelerate progress and advance practical climate action. To achieve this, we continue to seek a better understanding of where parties and the broader international community see the strongest opportunities to advance Rio Convention synergies while respecting the distinct mandates of each convention. Our discussions with parties have shown us there is strong interest in making substantive progress. So we encourage parties to bring this energy and collaborative spirit to the cooperation with other international organizations negotiating room where Rio synergies will be discussed at COP31. Today, we look forward to a constructive, practical and solutions focused exchange of experiences and expertise, and in particular, to hearing parties' perspectives on how synergies are being operationalised and strengthened through national implementation in each of your home countries. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Lalita. One of the great things is we've got all the presidencies here. So now, well, I think Mongolia is a little bit delayed, but they will, they will, they're on their way. So now could we hear from the Armenian presidency of COP17 for the Convention Biological Diversity, Ms. Nareen Hakobian, who's the UNCCD national focal point in Armenia.

Thank you. On behalf of the government of the Republic of Armenia, I would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the government and people of Mongolia first for hosting and organizing this COP17 here. I would also like to thank G20 Global Land Initiative, ENACT Partnership and Turkey for organizing this interesting dialogue and important for this stage. As a landlocked and mountainous country, Armenia is increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change, including raising temperatures, more frequent droughts, water scarcity and land degradation. These pressures directly affect our ecosystems, agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. We recognize that environmental challenges cannot be addressed separately. And land degradation, biodiversity loss, climate change are deeply interconnected and our responses must therefore be integrated. And this year having three cops gives opportunity to join efforts and act together for nature and well-being of our societies. We firmly believe that strengthening synergies among the three Rio conventions is essential for achieving greater impact with limited resources. This integrated approach is also reflected in Armenia's updated national determined contribution, including the important role of nature-based solutions for land restoration, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation and mitigation. In this regard, Armenia is honored to host CBD COP17 in October with slogan Act for Nature, promoting stronger synergies between biodiversity, climate, and land agendas, will be among our key priorities. We are committed to whole of society, whole of government approach, engaging communities, civil society, academy, development partners in one stage. We look forward to welcoming all parties to Armenia and working together to strengthen cooperation, accelerate implementation and deliver lasting benefits for both people and nature. We believe that by acting together for nature, restoring our land, conserving biodiversity and strengthening resilience, we can also restore hope for present and future generations. I thank you.

Thank you, Noreen. Now, my understanding is Aruna hasn't actually, Aruna will, is on her way, but we'll move to, in order not to lose time, we will lose to setting, just setting the scene, and we'll hear from Murali and from Ibrahim on, that'll frame actually the Anatolia Dialogue series and then the role of these technical dialogues within that. And then when Aruna arrives, we'll give her the floor. So without further ado, Murali, would you take us through, sorry, Murali Thummarakudi, who's the director of the G20 Global Land Initiative hosted by UNCCD. Would you help us set the scene for this this dialogue. Thank you.

Thank you.

And then, Ibrahim, if you can go straight on after that. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, moderator, for this opportunity. I'm Murali Thamarukodi. I'm the director of the G20 Global Land Initiative. For those in the room who are not familiar with the G20 Global Land Initiative, this was an initiative launched under the Saudi Arabia presidency of the G20 in 2020 with a global ambition of achieving 50% reduction in degraded land by 2040. I want to start by thanking the government of Mongolia for hosting us the side of the COP17. I also want to welcome the three presidencies, incoming presidencies of the CBD, UNFCCC to this dialogue. Turkey is a very active member of the Global Land Initiative Steering Committee. So when earlier this year, Turkey approached us with this idea of bringing together the G20 members and other parties to discuss the question of synergy, we are only very happy to do that because from a land degradation, land restoration perspective, it is absolutely self-evident. Whatever action we do in any type of land, be it agricultural land, mining land, range land, it is impacting not just land, but it's also impacting climate and biodiversity. So synergy is in a way self-evident and built into it. So we met in Antalya and we are very clear on one thing. We really don't want any new structures. I think this was already referred to. We don't want any new reporting processes. We want to see action. We want to learn from good practices and we want to see how they can be scaled. So that dialogue now moved into Ulaanbaatar. And again, this is not the end of it. It will then move to the CBD COP and then eventually to Antalya UNFCCC COP. And that itself will not be the end because that journey will continue further. Here in Ulaanbaatar, this is the technical roundtable. We have a ministerial roundtable, ministerial meeting on 26th and also a parliamentarians forum on 27th, again discussing the same topic. So today, I'll be very brief and I want to encourage all of you to give your best practices and also what did not work as much as we want to hear about what worked and what did not work. We want other partners to see how they can support the countries to achieve synergy. And I wish this dialogue all the best. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, dear participants. I will be very brief about the outputs of the Antalya Dialogue that we organized in May in close cooperation with UNCCDJLI and G20 countries as well as the international organizations. So we already know what is the real synergy. So the question was instead of discussion why again, we focused on how we can turn the Rio synergies into implementations in line with the COP31 vision. That is we always call this is the implementation COP. So about that, as you all know that the Rio Convention has strategic objectives, targets and institutions, specific instructions that has been underway. They operate separately. So in line with that, we see that there are many initiatives for the Rio synergies and the current initiatives. They have been trying to build stronger links across the Rio convention and this is quite positive. But when we look at them more closely, many tend to focus on one particular pictures that could be either policy coherence, policy coordination, reporting or finance. So again, the issue is not we lack the initiatives or good work. The challenge is we connected these different pieces turn into them more coherent actions and implementation. So these brings us the real synergies. I am, I would say that I am the last person. These buildings asked the real synergies in line with that. We are not suggesting the merging of the three conventions, rather we are saying that their implementation could come together. That's why is taking into account their importance, the real synergies has take place one of the 10 priorities under the COP30 agenda. The distinguished speakers already talked about why, so I really don't want to spend much time on this. So the Antalya Dialogue was designed as part of this broader process, and our intention is more to step by step from dialogue to dialogue towards the implementation. And I am the last person again talking about why we chose the land restoration and land to common implementation grant. You may already know the multiple benefits of the land to the three conventions. And there is some important points I like to highlight that from the Antalya Dialogue, we shouldn't look at the land is isolated, we need to connect land with water, forest and other ecosystem. And I think this is quite important. Regarding the Antalya Dialogue key messages, I would like to summarize it in four points. The first one is it is highlighted that stronger national coordination is needed. if our climate biodiversity and land institution continue working in silos, synergy will remain a concept rather than an implementation approach, which we don't want it. Second is the peer learning. There is already good examples from different countries, as you may know. The third is the multi-level governance. National governments are important, but also we need to take into account local governments, local authorities, side communities as well. The fourth one is the it is better to use on and build on the existing mechanism. Again, it has been highlighted again and again during the speech by speakers and I like to highlight that we are not proposing any architecture, we are proposing stronger bridges between the existing mechanism. This distinction is very important because when we talk about the real synergies, the immediate action can sometimes meet as there are many initiatives under the real synergies, so we need another institution, another secretariat, et cetera. So our participation, our mind is quite clear on that. And regarding the country and technical perspective, there are many good examples across the world. If I mention about Turkey, we brought the national focal points of the Rio Conventions through the formal protocol. And also there was other examples highlighted during the meeting. Panama has developed a nature pledge, for instance, and France has experience with whole of government ecological planning. Germany demonstrated how nature-based solution can connect the climate and biodiversity objectives. These examples are different and that is the actual point. We are not looking for one model for all participating countries that every country should apply. And this is quite important, I like to highlight that because almost 85% of participants know about Rio synergies and around 40% of participants is saying that there is an institutional mechanism, but it is not quite active. Regarding the country-led actions, So we, there are four area identified for the country that action. These are the integrated planning, reporting and capacity building policy bridges among the among three conventions as well as the finance. I try to keep as it is as I could and due to, in order to save time, but I just would like to highlight again to your esteemed participants, We just want to your expertise, country expertise, organizational expertise just to identify the countries and really put for real synergies into practices. I am not asking you to do now, but I am just kindly asking you to connect what you already have been doing. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ibrahim. I think that was really helpful and really nicely characterized sort of the ambition of where we might possibly go. Before we're going to get to the really important part now very soon to hear from you, first from the countries and then as time permits from the international and technical organizations. Well, first of all, I see that Aruna has arrived. So maybe could we just, as I said, we've heard from the presidencies of UNFCCC and of CBD. So Aruna, could I hand across to you for your comments from the perspective of the presidency of UNCCD? Thank you.

Thank you and very apology for being late. We had very interesting bureau meeting just finished. and we were discussing about some of the items, some of the surprising items on our negotiation table, also concerns and interlinked with the topic we are discussing now. First of all, for Mongolian government and for the people of this country, synergies between doing Rio Convention is highly important and it's one of the pin for our national policies and its implementation and not only the national policies but it is fully aligned with the livelihood of this country. Considering not only considering, but also the synergies is part of Mongolian lifestyle. It's part of the cultural and natural heritage. The synergy is all about Mongolian survival. So in this respect, the host country of the UNCCD COP17, we are emphasizing and we are putting all our effort how to make sure that the synergies at the global level at this COPs, especially this year, this trio, and then also how this synergy is going to impact to the national policies and how to deliver it on the ground. So it should be the, the next comments may sound like closing remarks, but I would reiterate it again in the opening. Mongolian government will join any initiatives or any efforts driven by all the stakeholders to promote and to keep the synergies to be there where it should be and when it should be. So it is the message from the president and then also it is the message from the main host, the government organization, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. And lastly, I would say, regardless of what the countries decide at this COP about synergies, but we should stay together and then we should unite to keep the synergies at all level, at all possible means of communication, means of political arrangement and then also means of implementation on the ground. So back to you, Stuart. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Aruna. I think that really nicely wraps up the first part of this. As I said, now we want to really go, and the real point of this dialogue is to hear from you. What we'll do is we will go through, if it's okay, I'm gonna go through in alphabetical order, just starting with the parties. If a party has to leave earlier, please let any, can you stand up and wave and we will try and accommodate that, we'll try and because we really want to hear everyone say we'll go through the countries first, we'll go through the parties first of all, if you have to leave earlier let any know. I would say please as you know you can see it's, I think it's a vote of confidence that this is a topical theme with the number of people we've got in the room here. So I would ask respectfully please if you could keep your interventions really down to about two, maximum three minutes for the parties. Please let us know, I think there's a couple of things we want, as we said and as Kasim highlighted in his opening remarks, let know what you what's happening we know there's synergies out there we know that that national and sub-national level there are synergies underway what's happening how you think how they work together to bring addressing land degradation biodiversity loss climate change how you how they come together what challenges you find If you're not ready to actually flag that up then we'd appreciate if you just say whether you think this approach of trying to do a stock take and build from the bottom up is a good complement to the other more international processes of looking at synergies between the three conventions. So we really want to hear from everyone. So without further ado, I'd like to hand over to Australia and please introduce yourself as well. So I'll just call out, I'll go through the different countries. So Australia across to you.

Thank you, Chair. I'm Ethan Wignall from Australia, and thank you all for being here. Distinguished colleagues, the scale and urgency of our land, biodiversity, and climate challenges demand action beyond traditional silos and all levels of governance. Strengthening synergies through national and subnational implementation is key to delivering benefits and can be better facilitated and coordinated through international cooperation. Progressing Rio Convention synergies is a shared endeavor, both within countries and across international fora. It requires parties to pursue a consistent and coordinated approach across the UNCCD, UNFCCC, and CBD. By building cross-institutional awareness and expertise, Parties can harmonize national priorities, identify opportunities for collaboration and efficiencies, and accelerate actions that deliver outcomes for land, biodiversity, and climate simultaneously. In Australia, officials responsible for the three Rio conventions meet regularly to exchange knowledge, share lessons learned, and identify opportunities for stronger collaboration. We consider cross-institutional understanding to be a foundational element of developing a mature and practical approach to Rio synergies that can be translated into national programs, policies, and practices. We therefore encourage parties to strengthen connections among officials working across the Rio conventions. Building the capacity of delegates and technical officials to understand how synergies intersect with their respective negotiations is equally important. Australia, sorry, in Australia, strengthening capability and expertise remains an ongoing and indispensable part of fostering collaboration across the Rio conventions. We encourage parties to identify officials who can serve as country champions for synergies, consistent with the joint liaison groups 2025 to 26 areas for collaboration to help formalize responsibility, expertise, and leadership in this area. Recognition and understanding are essential, but they must also lead to action. Australia is increasingly embedding synergistic action into national implementation, as many of your own countries are doing. Our nature repair market and national carbon crediting scheme are aligned, incentivizing landholders to restore and protect land and biodiversity and reduce emissions in tandem. We fund programs to support the agriculture sector to build resilience to climate change and adopt natural resource management practices that protect and conserve natural capital and biodiversity through our Natural Heritage Trust investment platform. We welcome further opportunities to share these experiences with the global community, including through the technical dialogues at CBD COP16 in Armenia and UNFCCC COP31 in Turkey. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I believe Egypt is not here yet, is that correct?

Yes, our head of delegation is coming shortly. He's chairing the air group.

Okay, so we'll wait. That's fine. One announcement. Thank you for your patience. There is food outside. If you're feeling a bit peckish, just, it's informal, get up, go and get some food, bring it back, and we will continue hearing your inputs. So next, I'd like to give the floor to the European Commission, please.

Thank you very much. Cooperation and synergies and policy coherence are key priorities for the EU and also the EU member states. I'm speaking here for the EU now. We cannot afford duplication of work and we must use our resources efficiently, as efficiently as possible. A lot of good things have been said. Let me raise a few specific issues to compliment. First, integrated spatial planning. It's really a crucial starting point. What land and what water areas are we going to use for what purpose? Also, what land and water areas are to be restored for what purpose? These are key questions that need a coherent answers. And this also requires strong institutions and enforcement. and in the context of UNCCD, this should also take into account land tenure issues and pastoralism and urban rural linkages. Secondly, we warmly support developing a multi-level roadmap for enhancing cooperation policy coherence and synergies among the Rio conventions. This would give more structure and a time path to make all our efforts more concrete and we call upon all to engage in this process. Third, We see an increased focus on synergies between the processes for planning, monitoring, reporting and review. And as was mentioned, also in our view, it is not the idea to merge all of this, but really, because that would create a kind of monster process which would be very heavy to deal with. But we should really carefully analyze where the scope is for greater coherence, including in, for instance, in indicators monitoring and all of this. And in this context, let me also stress that we should benefit from all these processes where they are. And this year is special also as in the CBD, there will be the global review of implementation of the Kunming Montreal biodiversity framework, global biodiversity framework, and that offers political opportunities for all areas for raising ambition and stepping up implementation efforts also under UNFCCC and the UNCCD. Of course, nature-based solutions is a clear, a very clear example which would be applicable here. But it's also about indeed sustainable food systems, agroecology, agroforestry and actually many more issues. So let's also really engage and use the political momentum of all these processes when the opportunities are there to make sure that we advance the work on all of this. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I'd like to hand the floor to Frans.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you very much for convening this dialogue on a key topic, as you know, following up on our discussions in Antalya a few months ago. I would like to particularly salute the presidency of COP41 for its efforts to make synergies a central focus of this year's agenda. To keep it short, I would like to focus on three areas where we believe concrete progress can be made on synergies in the coming months and years. First, there is a very particular agenda around matter of method. Today, countries implement their commitments and the three Rio conventions through different national strategies, monitoring frameworks, and reporting cycles. We need to make these processes more coherent between one another while fully respecting, of course, the mandates and specificities of each convention. This could include better alignment between national focal points, national planning instruments, greater compatibility between indicators and data systems and where appropriate of course better coordination on reporting cycles. This is a key issue. The objective is not to create new reporting requirements or additional layers of governance but to improve the existing ones to simplify implementation concretely on the ground. This also means improving coordination between national focal points, as I said, and making full use of existing mechanisms such as the joint tourism group of the three secretariats. Second, we should focus on sectors and ecosystems where synergies can already be translated into concrete actions. I do believe that forests provide an excellent example. And we try to focus on that in France, notably. Healthy forest ecosystems, you know that perfectly well, store carbon, host a major share of terrestrial biodiversity, contribute to soil and water protection, strengthen resilience to droughts, and so on. Protecting forests and restoring degraded forest ecosystems can therefore contribute directly to the objectives of all three Rio conventions. In a way, this illustrates something very simple. On the ground, ecosystems do not operate in silos simply because our international conventions do. Our approach must go beyond simply planting trees, of course, restoration needs to be adapted to local ecological conditions and should preserve ecosystems integrity. Integrated landscape approaches, system, um, sustainable land management can also offer, offer particularly useful framework for delivering climate, biodiversity and land benefits together. We already have existing tools for that and I would like to especially take this opportunity to salute the excellent work being carried out by the ENACTS partnership and notably on nature-based solutions which helps to bring actors together on these issues. The same logic can also apply to other interconnected systems and notably water and food systems as we discussed in Antalya. Third and lastly, I promise I won't be too long, we need to progressively translate these practical synergies into greater coherence at the international level. At a time where we saw that a few days ago, at a time when discussions on synergies can sometimes become politically difficult, focusing on concrete implementation can also help us build common ground between ourselves. We should build on what already exists rather than create parallel processes and explore how the outcomes of the three Rio COPs can reinforce one another, including through common language where appropriate among COP decisions, also while fully preserving, of course, the respective mandates of the conventions. So, France stands ready to work with the COP presidency and all interested parties, of course, to make this agenda as concrete, pragmatic and operational as possible. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. And I'd now like to pass the floor to your neighbor, both geographically and physically. So across to Germany, Mark, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much. Mark Schauer for Germany. Germany welcomes the focus on synergies at the center of this year's triple COP agenda and supports very much putting synergies into action. Land restoration from our point of view represents a key entry point for translating real synergies into practical action as indicated by Professor Jenny Green and which is also a key priority for Germany. Healthy ecosystems are fundamental to our resilience to biodiversity and climate stability and especially important for Germany, food and water security. We see nature-based solutions as a particularly effective instrument in this regard with funding both from the public and the private sector relevant to achieve our goals here. The benefits of an integrated approach are demonstrated in Germany's federal action plan on nature-based solutions for climate and biodiversity, combining restoration of different ecosystems. Overall, We need stronger coordination, integrated planning, harmonized monitoring and financing. Implementation will be made more efficient, for example, through better alignment of NDCs, NABs, NDCSAPs and LDN plans or targets. And a good example of a practical tool for synergistic implementation of NDCs, NABs and NDCSAPs is the checklist for national policymakers jointly developed by GIZ, ISD and WWF. providing a practical and integrated approach to strengthening synergies across climate and biodiversity action. Mongolia has recently successfully used that checklist there. On UN level, we suggest strengthening cooperation among the Rio Convention secretariats, notably through a stronger joint liaison group that could provide support in these matters. Global initiatives like the Synergies Collaboration Platform, G20 Land Initiative, and the ENACT Partnership for Nature-based Solutions introduced by Stuart or mentioned by other colleagues here can play an important role in supporting this implementation, mobilizing political commitment and blended finance investment. Moreover, besides land, water has been highlighted as a key connector between Rio Conventions for the Joint Liaison Group. institutionalized intergovernmental process on water, what is closely linked to the Rio Conventions by default, would thus be welcome. Maybe as a last point, the idea of developing an investment tool as the GM is currently pursuing to target and optimize investments in avoiding, reducing and reversing land degradation and facilitating restoration would help countries in accelerating integrated implementation. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mark. I see Egypt is here, but they're taking their seats, so maybe I'll pass to Guatemala, and then we'll come back to Egypt after that. So Guatemala, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair. Me permitire dar mi intervencion en espanol. Desde Guatemala, definitivamente el tema de las sinergias lo vemos como una prioridad nacional. Es una estrategia que definitivamente generara un impacto Positive. Al momento de encontrar vinculación, por ejemplo, las metas de cambio climático, biodiversidad, neutralidad, la agresión de la tierras específicamente, por ejemplo, en el caso de Guatemala, nuestras diez metas voluntarias, ocho de ellas pertenecen al sector forestal vinculadas tanto al desarrollo económico vinculada a los ecosistemas. as well as technology transfer. So, for example, when we look at the linkage with organic carbon, which is still not fully explored at the moment of carbon market neutrality, conservation of nature and climate change, we see that potential and at the moment of finding the opportunity in the preparation of the country reports through the price reports, we identify the theme of strengthening the interface of political science and the contribution of reports to generate that integration of the different systems. In the case of Guatemala, there are different experiences on the side of the IUCN, for example, the Altiplano Resilient project, which has goals linked to the issue of forest restoration, ecosystem health, people's well-being, adaptation, the project. evalac in in America Latina que interviene Ecuador Guatemala Costa Rica vemos todas esas oportunidades que no solamente se relaciona en cambio climatico pero tienen la gran potencial en la neutralidad de la tierra y es necesario encontrar esas sinergias de una forma cientifica sistematica y fortalecer la gobernanza local ademas el tema del involucramiento de los jovenes for example, in the case of Latin America, various of the young people currently strengthened in the negotiations is a strategy that definitely will strengthen the whole impact of the involvement of future generations, for example, the involvement of the academy of young negotiators that different countries of the world have taken advantage of, we see it as strategies that can work at the national level and can have those impacts at the local level.

Gracias, Guatemala. Egypt, give me a sign when you're ready. Are you ready to take the floor now? Okay, so maybe we can pass the floor to you. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, dear colleagues. First of all, I have to apologize, deeply apologize. to come late, but actually I'm the chair of the Arab group, so that's why I have to take my position there and then I run back to you to have the honor to be with you. So apologize me and forgive me for my presence here. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues and partners, it's my distinguished honor to address you today this important dialogue on Rio Synergies. The Synergies agenda has long been foremost priority for Egypt started at COP 14 for CBD in Sharm El-Sheikh and later on at COP again in COP 27 in for the triple C in Sharm El-Sheikh again where Egypt presidency launched the ENACT partnership together with the government of Germany and International Union for Conservation of Nature. The partnership was born for, uh, from a shared determination to scale natural based solutions across Rio conventions as a mean to tackle that interlinkage global challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, and of course desertification. As the urgency of this interconnected crisis deepens, ENACT stands as a global coordination platform to enable and circulate nature-based solutions at scale. Egypt's enacts, I'm sorry, converting power together with partners is evident from the gathering today. This is all central to bridge the present gap between ambition and action at the national level. Egypt demonstrating the practical application of reconversion synergies through the range of initiatives. One of the main challenges that we are facing, as everybody knows, that Egypt, can be considered at the most dry and arid country all over the world. While the Nile over there, but our main challenge is drought and because of drought we lose biodiversity and as well the impact, the consequences, the negative consequences of the drought. The main challenge we have now, of course, the economic crisis and we have, of course, a very strong experience for using the rainwater harvesting, but still the main challenge is the financial resources, and of course we need some experience to be shared with us from the other countries. Allow me to this end, this looks forward to engaging in this dialogue further, and invite interested partners to join the ENACT partnership and to contribute to the collective end for. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. I will again, I'll just remind if there are parties who will have to leave early, please let any know and we will try and accommodate that. Also, there's food outside. So if any of you are feeling peckish, don't be shy. There's available. Could we hear from India now please?

Excellencies and distinguished delegates, I'm Clement Ben, I'm the national focal point for UNCCD here. Firstly, regarding harmonization of indicators and data systems, India already has several national monitoring systems that can serve multiple environmental objectives. For example, the ISFR, the Indian State of Forest Report developed by the Forest Survey of India and premier institution under the AGs of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change provides regular information on forest and tree cover, forest carbon stock and other parameters. India brings out the land degradation atlas with the help of and this assessment provides information on the extent and spatial distribution of land degradation. These data sets are relevant for different convention perspectives. Our Bonn Challenge reporting provides another practical example. India has been reporting not only the area brought under restoration but also financial flows and employment generated. We see an opportunity to build greater interoperability between such national data sets and the reporting requirements of the three conventions. Second, the coordination of work between the conventions. India's updated national biodiversity strategy and action plan for 2024-2030 is aligned with the coming Montreal global biodiversity framework and adopts a whole of government approach. It includes ecosystem restoration as one of the areas of action. At the same time, India has its national action plan to combat desertification and land degradation, and its climate architecture under the national action plan on climate change, NDCs and national adaptation plan is under process. Rather than developing these as three completely separate streams, we see value in connecting their implementation. Third, on the governance mechanism, India's experience is that we do not necessarily need three new institutional structures. We already have mechanisms that can bring these agendas together. For example, state action plans on climate change, that's the provincial state units, provide a state level platform for integrating climate priorities with existing policies and schemes. India currently has approved SAPCCs, that's a state action plan on climate change, covering 34 states and union territories, and these plans are designed to converge with existing state and central afforestation programs. Thanks a lot.

Thank you very much. Indonesia, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Indonesia reaffirms its unwavering commitment to global climate action through the strength of its domestic regulatory framework. With the enhancement of Presidential Regulation in 2025, Indonesia has established a strategic foundation for the management of carbon economic value and national greenhouse gas emission control. This framework is designed to build a carbon market ecosystem. This is credible, transparent, and accountable. while ensuring that its benefits are shared with local communities. To further operationalize this framework, Indonesia has issued Ministerial Forestry Regulation number 6/2026. It provides clear procedures for carbon trading through greenhouse gas emission offset in the forestry sector. Indonesia also remains firmly committed to restoring degraded land in line with the objective of the UNCCD. For the period 2025-2029, Indonesia target the rehabilitation 1.25 million hectares of critical lands. As of 2025, more than 700,000 hectares have already been restored. Our intervention include forest and land rehabilitation to restore ecosystem function, spring recharge restoration to safeguard water system, and mangrove ecosystem recovery to strengthen coastal resilience and enhance blue carbon potential. In parallel, Indonesia continues to advance its biodiversity agenda in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity. In this regard, Indonesia has launched the Indonesia Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2045. This strategy serves as a key reference for biodiversity management. through these integrated efforts across climate, land, and biodiversity agendas. Indonesia continues to demonstrate its commitment to delivering tangible and measurable outcomes on the ground. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And now I'll hand across to your neighbor, Ireland.

Thank you physically, but absolutely not geographically. Thank you, Stuart, and thank you to all the organizers. It's a privilege to be here. From an Irish perspective, our starting point would be that the three conventions are not separate implementation strategies, but they need to be delivered through the same landscapes, the same communities, and the same public investment decisions. So our priorities under the UNCCD are closely linked therefore to our CBD and UNFCCC priorities. And these are restoring degraded ecosystems. In Ireland, this particularly means peatlands. It means also protecting and restoring biodiversity, improving soil and water resilience and reducing emissions from land use while increasing resilience to climate change. And we're already starting to see some of the value in this integrated approach through nature restoration particularly peatland, as I mentioned, a move towards more sustainable agricultural practices and forestry practices and nature-based solutions. And all of these require, in our experience, cooperation across government at all levels, national, regional, and local, but particularly between environment, agriculture, climate, forestry, water, and terrestrial and marine planning, which I'll mention in a moment, rather than through individual silos, I think is critically important. And I think like most speakers who've gone before me, we would really welcome and do welcome this event as a way to share experience on practical tools that can help all of us align national plans and reporting and identify co-benefits as well as the trade-offs and develop integrated investment pipelines rather than separate projects for each convention. And I would add, particularly from an Irish perspective, a further dimension. And I'm conscious that the BBNJ agreement is a non-closed implementing agreement rather than a Rio convention. But I think there's real potential for synergies here too as we start to prepare for the first BBNJ COP. And the work associated with that, I think, is a useful reminder that synergies don't just, they don't stop at the coastline. What happens on land through, for example, nutrient loss and sedimentation, carbon storage, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity management, all of these directly affect marine ecosystems. So I think we need to be thinking about an integrated approach to land and sea interactions. And I think this should be part of how we think about implementation across conventions into the future beyond the Rio conventions, but obviously starting with those. And then finally, we see the role of technical partners as helping countries turn this integrated vision into projects that are implementable, so projects that connect science and policy, that build capacity, and that help mobilize finance. From our perspective, the objective should be simple. One coherent action on the ground should be capable of delivering multiple convention objectives rather than countries having to deliver three or four, including BBNJ, separate actions for separate agendas. I'll leave it there and thanks again for the opportunity to contribute.

Thank you very much, Philip. We will move to Italy. I will mention that if some The other thing we will try and do is if there's any, anyone wants to add further written submissions, I'd ask, I've got a set of cards up here and you can write to my colleague and we'll compile that all on behalf of the presidencies for the three COPs and build that into a knowledge bank of what's actually happening. So if somebody has to leave, please come and pick up a card if you'd like to make a further submission. With that, I'll go to Italy. Thank you.

Thank you to you, Mr. Chair. And we really welcome the Turkey COP31 presidency for organizing this exchange following the very successful dialogue in Antalya. I had the opportunity to be there and I appreciate very much the richness of the intervention and the so frank exchange between us. also with different point of view, but reaching some very relevant agreement on the necessity and the relevance of having this kind of approach. And of course, I thank once again our Mongolia host, for organizing the COP13, very huge responsibility that you have approached very well. And thanks again to you, especially, and to all the Mongolian government and the people of Mongolia. It is a matter of fact that ecosystems functionality relies on the cooperation and synergies among living and non-living elements. And the same principle should govern our environmental policies and the related programs and action to be in line with this functioning style. Healthy land and healthy people, as many colleagues already mentioned, should be at the core of this approach. Healthy land and soils are essential for human health, food security, livelihoods, promoting social well-being and resilience based on efficient functioning ecosystems. All of us, we share this kind of principle, but I consider relevant to recall every time what we have as our overarching goals. From the operational From an operational standpoint, the concept of land degradation neutrality itself embodies this kind of integrative framework. If its implementation, we could, should consider some building blocks. First and foremost, To build the real operational synergies, we should reinforce coordination among national focal points to ensure a common guidance, a common frame of the activities at national level. And we need to build a shared technical glossary and align with a definition across the three Rio conventions, strategies, and the plans. and to adopt this approach. By establishing this common technical glossary, we should adopt this unified language for climate, biodiversity, land, and drought resilience for action design and for result monitoring and evaluation activities able to highlight integration between goals and tool. highlight and support integration between goals and tools. Referring to our experience in Italy, we are trying to operationalize these integrated approaches to river basin management and integrated agroecological solutions. embedded in several policy lines, such as our national adaptation plan, as well as biodiversity strategy that we align to the GBF. And the same approach is going to be adopted for the natural restoration plan under finalization in line with the European related European law. at international level in the frame of the Mattei Plan through our climate fund and development and the current, the old development cooperation activities across Mediterranean, especially across the Mediterranean, Africa. Italy supports concrete project integrating sustainable management, climate smart agriculture, water resilience. with social development and based on local leads. Also, this is a very important point. We should do the right action in the right place at the right time. To the triple C COP31, Italy proposed three concrete technical priorities. First, translating these harmonized indicators also into streamlined reporting to reduce administrative burdens to parties. Second, advancing policy investment alignment, blending public climate finance with private capital for systemic land restoration, adopting, of course, natural-based solution. and third, strengthening the operational capacity of the existing vehicles such as the G20 Global Land Initiative together with other similar ongoing initiatives to bring national policy with concrete field implementation. Anyway, Italy remains fully committed to working with technical partners on the road to Antalya and COP31 through Ulaanbaatar and Yerevan. This is our own caravan. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I will make a quick, just in case we start to lose colleagues, there is, IUCN will host a reception at six o'clock, six o'clock in the IUCN pavilion. It's very easy to find in the delegation pavilions as you come in through the door. So, and there we will have an opportunity for exchange and conversation. So most of you, or all of you are most warmly welcome. With that, could we hear from Brazil? Is Brazil not here?

Good afternoon, I am Sandra Fonso. Thank you for inviting. I am from Ministry of Environment. First, Integrated land, water, biodiversity and climate into planning is a key issue for managing ecosystems sustainable within the context of landscapes. Ensuring land access rights and promoting participatory planning and governance in the territory is the second point we want to highlight. It is also necessary to align territorial governance with public policies and financial incentives. Considering the reality of Brazil and the implementation agenda of the Rio Convention, the initiatives to define the Eldene targets and the establishment of the Catinga program stand out. Especially the Catinga program proposed social productive restoration in the Catinga biome. It aims to promote land restoration by integrating the management or planting of native species with food production, combining with the application of technology for water access and conservation. In this way, preventing desertification and bringing climate resilience. The program gave us this perspective of thinking about synergistic, productive landscapes, considering people and the territories, valuing their ways of life as a central part of the strategy. With this With its social, cultural and environmental diversity, the Kachina presents a wide range of experience and productive systems adapted and resilient to drought. We are talking about a biome with high efficiency in carbon sequestration between 1.5 and 5.7 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare year. On the other hand, the Catingo has 10 million hectares of degraded land. The program aims to have these 10 million hectares under recovery by 2045. This contributes to achieving the goal of restoring at least 12 million hectares for all biomes across the country by 2030. as established in the national plan for the recovery and native vegetation. It also contribute to achievement the land degradation neutrality targets to be announced. The LDN targets will be established taking into account the nationally determined contribution and the national strategy and action plan for biodiversity already established. This Brazil, thus Brazil promotes coherence between policies and targets for climate, biodiversity and combating land degradation. At the heart of this approach is sustainable land management, articulate with strategy for sustainable use, protection, conservation, and restoration of ecosystem and straightening the resilience of communities. Align governance and policies, ensure founding finances and incentives, building capacity and monitoring goal achievement are challenges for achieving transformative results throughout global commitments. Thank you.

Thank you very much. So just We have about 35 minutes to go. We've heard from 11 parties. There's another eight on the list. I think the observers and the international organizations, I'm afraid we're not going to be able to get to you. I think realistically that will not be the case. Please come to the reception tonight and we can exchange there. And also please, if you pick up some cards, then you can get, you want to give some written submissions and then you can send them to any and we will compile those to make sure that nothing is lost. Now, I believe the UK is on a pressed time schedule, so they've asked for the floor next. So, United Kingdom.

Thank you, Chair. And thank you, of course, to our host Mongolia, and thank you to the Turkey co-presidency for the invitation. I'm pleased to speak on behalf of the United Kingdom on the importance of enhancing synergies and to reiterate the United Kingdom's commitment to the synergies across the Rio Conventions. environmental security, I'll be brief, but environmental security, climate resilience and biodiversity objectives are increasingly recognized as mutually reinforcing and there are significant opportunities to strengthen integration across international processes. The UK strongly supports enhanced practical cooperation between the Rio conventions to accelerate delivery of shared objectives, recognizing that biodiversity laws Climate change and land degradation are deeply interconnected and require coordinated and mutually reinforcing global action. Strengthening cooperation across the conventions is essential to effective delivery, offering a strategic opportunity to align national plans, which several of you have already mentioned. I think where the UK really sees the importance of this is where efficiencies come out. And excuse me. Yeah, the importance of building efficiencies through aligning the Rio conventions, but also as several others have mentioned, how that actually reflects in concrete actions. Without going into too many different examples, just as you solicited the examples, what came to mind is the one health approach, which of course links animal health, human health, and plant or environmental health. And I think this example, I just thought of this example because it's reflects really how important, how significant the implications are of building synergies, obviously, when we think of global health and public health and how important aligning the Rio Conventions and our national planning really is when it reflects in each and every one of our countries. I'm going to stop there. The UK thinks the, I'll just add the UK thinks the UN Secretary General for the work to date under the UNAD initiative and welcomes the, it's emerging recommendations on environmental governance reform that have the potential to support improved coherence across the UN system. And we encourage that these initiatives go beyond the UNAD. So I'll stop there. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We've got half an hour and we've got, I think, another seven interventions. So I would just ask everyone, we want to hear from everyone, but if you can really keep your interventions to two, three minutes, that would be really appreciated so that we're fair on everybody else on the list. Ali, I'm not going to ask you to sum up, I think because we won't have time. We will compile, we'll collect everything written and verbal submissions and we'll try and bring them into something coherent and we'll circulate that. But Ali, maybe if you can just, when I give the floor to you at the end, if you can just give us a sense of the next steps that would be useful because I want to be respectful of everyone's time. Could we now move to Kenya, please?

Thank you, Chair, and Excellencies. I'm going to be as brief as possible. Just to appreciate the Republic of Turkey for convening this meeting and also the IUCN for hosting. Kenya recognizes that the three Rio conventions are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. As a party that ratified all the three conventions, Kenya is committed to their coherent implementation. Our nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plan of 2015-2030 under UNFCCC, our national biodiversity strategy and action plan 2019-2030, and national biodiversity coordination mechanisms under CBD, and our land degradation neutrality targets and national action program under UNCCD provide the national framework for action. We acknowledge that climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification share common drivers and affect the same landscapes, particularly our arid and semi-arid lands and coastal ecosystems. We therefore underscore the urgency of breaking silos and enhancing synergies through joint planning, integrated landscape restoration, ecosystem-based adaptation and harmonized financing and reporting systems and frameworks. Kenya calls for strengthened institutional coordination through the joint last of groups and support to developing countries to implement the Rio Conventions in an integrated manner that delivers on climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, land restoration, and also sustainable development. We have so far as a country identified the gaps that Kenya would like to strengthen the synergies between the Rio Conventions. In particular, we have developed a framework where the focal points are properly coordinated. We also have ensured that reporting burdens are reduced by doing reports together. The issue of financing, we know that we are competing for the same GF and GCF funds instead of joint projects. Kenya has deliberately taken the actions to make sure that all development projects under the JEV and GCF funds integrate the three conventions. The synergies and opportunities that we have as a country, integrated landscape projects, for example, the mangrove restoration in Lamu, blue economy, marine biodiversity, coastal erosion control, and also the NDCs claim a smart agriculture and agroforestry frameworks also being put together and considering the significance of ecosystem based adaptation jointly chair and excellencies these are very critical aspect that we need to consider the issue of joint monitoring so using the same MNA systems and for NDC Partnerships adaptation tracking is very critical thank you

Thank you very much, Kenya. That was very clear and very succinct. So thank you for that. Can we now hear from Mexico, please?

Thank you, Chair. I'm Alma Vasquez. For Mexico, these synergies are very important because the Rio Convention reflect the work that we have done for decades. I will focus my intervention in two points. The first are implementation tools that will help accelerate an integrated implementation. We consider the practical guidance for identifying areas where national climate, biodiversity and land priorities geographically and pragmatically overlap without requiring countries to redesign their existing commitments. Second is methodologies to identify and measure multiple benefits from the same intervention while respecting the methodologies agreed under each convention. Then greater interoperability between national and international information systems following a report once, use multiple times approach, where feasible and consistent with the decisions of each convention. And finally guidance on the signing and financing integrated landscape projects, including approaches that combined public, international and private finances while maintaining appropriate environmental and social safeguards. The second point that I want to focus are the main gaps and some Mexico request for the support is one of the main challenges that we found is the fragmentation of financing, planning, implementation and reporting across the three agendas. We also find very important to restrain national information systems, methodological that are methodological, compatible and interoperability while ensuring that national validated data remain as a basis for the reporting process. We also welcome support for developing bankable, investable and integrated projects provided that this investable is understood not only on terms of commercial returns, but also in terms of measurable environmental, social and predictive value. And finally, we want to highlight particular attention should be given to ensuring that financing reaches small and medium scale producers, indigenous people and local community who are the central to implementation in the ground. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mexico. And again, I appreciate your clarity and succinctness in your messages. Can we hear from Panama, please?

Thank you, Chair, and thanks for the invitation of this dialogue. And I would like to share what Panama experience was building this coherence and synergic policy framework. And as India was stating earlier, because institutions exist doesn't mean the synergic will happen automatically, but it doesn't also relies on building a new institution for it. It requires a deliberated process to do so. So the way we approach this to bring the three agendas together was working really on intergovernmental technical process, right, to harmonize terminology, to share information. And then we went through a really strong consultation process involving major stakeholders, local communities, indigenous peoples, youth, academia. So in the end, so we can have a really strong and cohesive product, right? So this is one of the most key important things. And in a public consultation, it is important not to use it just as a validation of what was approved. They need to be involved throughout the process in order for these to have a really substantial outcome. For example, after the technical dialogues or working groups, we work around like 45 main goals. But after the consultations, we were able to comprise into 30 really clear goals that it's stated in our nature pledge, right? So this is one of the major outcomes of involving the stakeholders. And so that's one of the recommendations we have. Definitely it is also really key to have really the involvement of the government in our case, we did have a strong vision that ended up building these coherence framework. Maybe what is important for us to mention, right, between the three conventions, the restoring the land is also key, right? And we have a really critical outcome is to have a hundred thousand hectares to conserve and restore. Previously, they were all working without communication, without knowing we have probably duplicities regarding the restoration and having this policy framework allowed us to have a really clear pathway where our country needs to follow it in order to achieve our goals. And then Let me be a final remarks. I know the time is really tight. So Panama experience shows that synergies between the Rio Convention do not happen automatically simply because countries have separated institutions and commitments. They require deliberate coordination, share information, meaningful participation, political support. and permanent technical capacity. The Nature Pledge has proved Panama with a common framework, but the real challenge and the next step is to translate that coherence into a coordinated implementation in the ground. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Panama. Saudi Arabia.

I would like to begin by thanking the COP presidencies for their valuable intervention and continued commitment to strengthen cooperation across the Rio Conventions. As the presidency of COP16, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recognizes the importance of strengthening Rio synergies to build on common goals, accelerate implementation and enhance coherence across the three Rio Conventions and related initiatives and processes. We welcome the opportunity to further advance this work, building on existing efforts, including the Belém Joint Statement on Rio Synergies agreed at the UNFCCC COP30 in Brazil and signed by five COP presidencies of the three Rio Conventions. The various initiatives launched under the COP16, including the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, Business for Land, and Riyadh Action Agenda, are closely aligned with this discussion. They provide practical platform for state and non-state actors to work together, mobilize action and resources. and advance a more integrated and holistic approach to environmental convention and sustainable development. Thank you for this productive discussion. And as COP16 presidency, Saudi Arabia stands ready to support continuous collaboration and strengthen coherence across this effort and the broader Rio processes. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Saudi Arabia. We've got three interventions left. Thank you. Actually, let me say sincere thank you to Spain and Uganda and Uzbekistan for your patience. And of course, we really want to hear from you. So the floor is yours, Elsa. Over to Spain.

Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, colleagues. First of all, Spain recognizes the strong interdependence and interlinkage between desertification, land degradation and drought with climate change, biodiversity loss and water scarcity. In Spain, for us, it's a priority and we are working very hard in the use of nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approach from a multi-sectorial perspective to achieve the goals of the three conventions. Talking about the Spanish case, we like to share our lessons learned. We have been promoting the cooperation between the national focal points of the three Rio Conventions. We are lucky because we have all the three national focal points under the same ministry, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge. So this help us a lot with coordination and to reduce administrative burden. And in this sense, we have assured the coherence among our national planification. And I'm talking about national adaptation plan, the national determined contributions, our national biodiversity strategy, and also the national restoration plan that we are nowadays working on, and of course, and our national action program under the UNCCD. This late, the later includes a priority action item on enhancing coordination and governance, within the specific committees and bodies for national coordination. You know that in Spain we have 17 regions and they are the real on the ground managers. So we have these three national committees to work with the regions and we assure the representation in these committees of the three national focal points of the Rio Conventions. So to finish, we highlight the importance of synergy among the Rio Convention. Is this a priority for our ministry? And we underline our commitment to maximizing benefits in the three Rio Convention implementation. It has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for inviting us. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Spain. We'll move to, we've got one other speaker who would like to, one other party that'd like to intervene as well. So we'll go through Uganda, Uzbekistan, and then Mali, and then we'll begin to wrap up. So Caroline, across to you, please.

Thank you, Chair, co-presidencies of the three conventions, distinguished delegates. Uganda welcomes the dialogue on the synergies And we acknowledge that we are already implementing the synergies in line with our land degradation neutrality framework, the national biodiversity strategy and action plan, our nationally determined contributions, and our national adaptation action plans. We, however, want to note that for Uganda, there are three key areas where we see that we need to see that synergies are already happening. in terms of wetlands and catchment restoration. And this one delivers outcomes in terms of the nationally determined contributions and the CBD outputs too, including aspects on land neutrality. Also the areas of climate smart agriculture delivers sustainable and climate resilient land management. And again, this brings synergies between UNCCD, the climate change and then the CBD. And then the aspects of drought resilient landscapes and watersheds and Uganda sees drought resilience as a practical bridge between the convention supporting UNCCD drought resilience objectives and delivering adaptation outcomes under the NDCs and protected watershed ecosystems and biodiversity outcomes under the CBD. We also see that one of the key areas that we really need to see the synergies, the gender actions, we need to have joint gender action plans to facilitate synergistic delivery of the conventions. Uganda observes that there is need to develop common result framework, integrated landscape planning tools, building integrated investment pipelines, identifying priority landscapes where you've, you'll find UNCCD, the climate change convention and the CBD actions overlapping and establishing integrated implementation plans. We also need to see methodologies for measuring climate biodiversity, land and drought resilient co-benefits and establishing a national Rio synergies coordination mechanism that brings together all the responsible institutions currently for Uganda. These three conventions are in three different institutions, but we also want to see annual reviews of how this is progressing. We remain committed to continued dialogue. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much Uganda, Uzbekistan. And again, let me again reiterate my thanks to those who speaking last Uganda, Uzbekistan for their patience. And after that, we'll have two more interventions. Okay.

Thank you, Chair. First of all, thank you for inviting our friends from Turkey. Distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, For Uzbekistan, Rio conventions on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification address different dimension of one interconnected challenge. As a dryland country, we experience this interconnection very directly. Drought accelerates land degradation, degraded land increases dust and sand storms, climate change inter shifts water scarcity and biodiversity loss reduce reduces resilience of ecosystem and communities. Therefore, our response must also be integrated. Uzbekistan working in advance land restoration, drought resilience, biodiversity conversation and climate adaptation through coordinated national action. Restoration of degraded landscapes, expansion of green cover, sustainable pasture management and rehabilitation of the RLC region are important examples. We also opportunity to connect with efforts with renewable energy transition through solar powered water management, energy efficient irrigation, clean technology for rural communities and digital system for monitoring land, water and climate risk. For us Rio Convention synergy should not remain only at the level of coordination between institution. They should generate joint projects, common data systems, integrated investment plans, and measurable results on the ground. Uzbekistan therefore supports strong cooperation among the national local points of the three conventions, interoperability and environmental data joint access to climate and biodiversity finance and regional cooperation on drought and transboundary sand and dust storms. Our objective is simple, one landscape, one integrated approach and multiple benefit for climate, biodiversity, land and people. Thank you for attention.

Thank you very much, Uzbekistan. Could we now hear from Mali, please?

Hello. Okay.

Bonjour. Merci, la Mongolie pour la bonne organisation de cette COP. Merci au président aussi de ces trois conventions. And my sister presents the science of the science. By rapport au Mali, la synergie des trois conventions est très importante dans toutes nos interventions, que ça soit les points focaux changement climatique et même au-delà de ça, les points focaux dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre, par exemple, des actions relatives à l'égalité de chance. And we have a plan of action that is related to the Lima Convention on Climate Change. So in this context, we would like to intervene in the synergy of these three conventions to facilitate financing and also facilitate the implementation of these interventions, which has brought us to the country. de mettre en place un system of collecting databases on the three conventions to be able to feed a little bit the state of the place in the framework of the state of the place in relation to the information, the figures, the sex specific. So once again for us it's very important and even more so that we have new tools currently in Mali, the third generation of the CDN is already developed and we have also developed our adaptation action plan. So, by maintaining these three actions, we will seek to mobilize mixed financing to be able to implement this action plan, which will be an example of synergy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mali. And finally, and thank you for your patience, Ecuador.

Thank you, Chair.

As the final intervention, allow me to briefly build on the valuable points raised during this discussion. Ecuador supports strengthening synergies among the three Rio Conventions. As a mega-diverse country, we recognize the strong interconnections between biodiversity, climate change, and land degradation, and the importance of addressing these challenges in coordination manner. We also thank Guatemala for highlighting regional initiatives such as the EBA-LAC in which Ecuador participates and which demonstrate the value of regional cooperation. As several colleagues have already mentioned, we believe it is essential to avoid duplication of efforts and promote greater coherence and implementation. Ecuador will particularly emphasize the importance of coordinated monitoring, making use whenever possible of existing national information and reporting systems without creating additional reporting burdens for countries. These energies should also help improve access, finance, capacity building and technology, particular for developing countries while respecting the specific mandates of each convention. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Ecuador. Again, thank you everyone. Thank you for your patience. I think I was super rich. We've heard from, I think we've heard from 24 parties, including the current COP presidencies. A big apology to our friends from the international organizations and from the technical observers. As I said, we do want to hear your opinion and we want to get your feedback, so please write in, please come to the reception tonight. I'm not going to sum up now, there's Ali, because we're going to wrap up very soon now. There's just one thing I just want to reflect. This morning, I was having a conversation with a colleague and they said, after all these years and there's no synergies, well, I think actually what we've heard today is there's lots of synergies there, maybe there's not enough, Maybe it's not as coherent, but actually I think what all of you, the feedback that you have given actually shows that there's a very, very strong basis for how we actually start to bring that. I think some really good ideas. I like several of you made the observation that it's the same landscape with the same communities, with the same investment frameworks facing these challenges. So I think we've got a good basis to continue on this dialogue. I also heard a general support for taking this approach of actually looking at what's happening on the ground at national, subnational level. So we will continue to work with that as we work towards COP31 as part of the Anatalia Dialogue series. Ali, I'm gonna hand across to you. When we're finished, we'd like to take a family photo here, okay?

And Ali's gonna mention that about the next steps as well.

So Ali, you're gonna just give us next steps, but we will synthesize everything, we will get it out, and from that we will build on the engagements we will have in Armenia. So across to Ali.

Yeah, thank you everyone. So I won't go into detail, but so only one thing on behalf of presidencies and Turkey Coop and us, that aim is not to start a new initiative. It is to have a action group of party led supported by international organizations and non-state actors to seek how action in the countries can take place, how it can be supported by already initiative which are being taken so that you know just to connect everything which is going on and this we will develop a summary report of this so please do write to us all the international organization and non-state actors and initiative card as Stuart said is here so you can send e-mail on that and we will share the summary and overall objective as was saying, you know, knowledge sharing, action on ground, what's working, what's not working. So many tools are already there, initiatives are there. We need to bring coherence in policy. global policy. Let's not make it too complex globally so that action on ground can be taken properly and that investment coherence is also needed because policy and action we talk place, but if investment, as some of you said, if that's not coherent, then action cannot be coherent. So that's how we will move forward and capacity building, knowledge sharing depend as you know, some countries said, That will take place. So based on this outcome will be will fed into 26 ministerial meeting which will take place in met five at 1030. And then also there will be no met five is inactive event and high level is on 261130 on met 22. So that all will feed and then will be connected with each other. And as shared earlier, this all will go to Armenia also. And then from there, biodiversity angle will be strengthened and different stakeholders from ministries, they can also participate and then it will go to Antalya then. So thank you very much. Hope to see you around. Thanks.

Thank you Ali, thank you for your patience and thanks actually for the very very rich inputs that we've received. So we'll have a family photo here and I assume there's still food outside if anybody wishes to take it. Thank you.