GWP will take part in the twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC23) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), held from 1–5 December 2025 in Panama City, Panama. Representatives of 196 countries and the European Union will convene to review progress on addressing desertification, land degradation and drought under the world’s only legally binding treaty on these issues.
Around 500 delegates from governments, civil society and academia are expected to join the session, which will provide recommendations on achieving global targets to prevent and reverse land degradation and build drought resilience by 2030, as well as inform the post-2030 strategic framework.
GWP will contribute, among other things, through its joint work with WMO under the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), its collaboration with UNCCD on the Communities of Learning and Practice (CLP), and its engagement in the DRESS-EA project implemented with OSS.
GWP Highlights at CRIC23:
- Money Meets Resilience: Innovative Investment Pathways for Drought Action
📅 1 December, 18:15 – 19:45 – Caribe 7
Join GWP, UNCCD, ELD, and TNC to explore innovative approaches to financing drought resilience. This session features global initiatives, winners of the UNCCD CLP Investing in Drought Resilience Competition, and real-world case studies from Brazil and Burkina Faso. Learn how economic analyses and tools like green bonds, impact investing, and ecosystem payments can drive proactive, sustainable drought and land management.
Speaker from GWP: Laurent-Charles Tremblay-Levesque, IWRM Specialist, GWPO - CRIC 23 Open Session: Drought Resilience
📅 2 December, 13:15 – 14:50 – Plenary
Convenor: UNCCD
Speaker from GWP: Fabiola Tabora, Regional Coordinator, GWP Central America - From the Past to the Future: 20 Years of Drought Lessons and New Learning Paths
📅 3 December, 08:30–10:00 – Caribe 7
The session will also feature the launch of the Pillar 2 course – Vulnerability and Impact Assessment – as part of the three Pillars of Integrated Drought Management under the Integrated Drought Management Course developed by WMO and GWP. The three pillars outline the essential components needed for effective drought policy and implementation:
1. Monitoring and early warning
2. Vulnerability and impact assessment
3. Preparedness, mitigation and response
While you wait for the Pillar 2 course to launch, you can learn more about the Pillar 1 course on Monitoring and Early Warning.
Conveners: UNCCD, GWP, WMO
Speakers from GWP: Gergana Majercakova, Senior Learning Specialist, GWPO, Valentin Aich, Senior Water & Climate Specialist, GWPO, Fabiola Tabora, Regional Coordinator, GWP Central America - Accelerating Land Degradation Neutrality: Lessons, Innovations And Partnerships
📅 3 December, 13:15–14:45 – Caribe 7
Convenor: OSS
Speaker from GWP: Laurent-Charles Tremblay-Levesque, IWRM Specialist, GWPO - Integrated Drought Management: A Decade of Progress and a Roadmap for the Future
📅 4 December, 8:30-10:00 – Caribe 4
With negotiations on drought resilience having reached a stalemate at COP16, this session aims to create a constructive bridge toward COP17 in Mongolia in 2026. The discussion will take a closer look at the latest developments in integrated drought management, focusing on the work of IDMP partners and how their efforts are supporting countries in strengthening drought resilience. The session will explore emerging issues, innovative approaches, and pathways for advancing coordinated action in the years ahead.
Conveners: GWP, WMO
Speaker from GWP: Valentin Aich, Senior Water & Climate Specialist, GWPO - Advancing Global Drought Impact and Aridity Monitoring in the Framework of the UNCCD Science-Policy Interface
📅 4 December, 18:15-19:45 – Caribe 7
This interactive session will explore the work that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP), through the IDMP, are doing to enhance drought impact monitoring globally. The session will:
● Highlight information on relevant drought and aridity monitoring initiatives;
● Identify actions and next steps for leveraging the IDMP network of partners to advance global drought impact monitoring;
● Discuss modalities for information and data sharing to feed into a Global Drought Mosaic;
● Identify opportunities for aridity monitoring in addition to drought monitoring;
● Advance the call to action noted in COP16 Decision 16, which called on WMO and GWP to integrate aridity information into existing drought monitoring and early warning systems and develop science-based standards and guidelines for assessing the socio-economic and environmental impacts of increasing aridity and drought.
Conveners: WMO, GWP
Speaker from GWP: Valentin Aich, Senior Water & Climate Specialist, GWPO - Farmer and pastoralist-centric solutions to managing droughts and safeguarding livelihoods
📅 5 December, 8:30-10:00 – Caribe 4
Conveners: GWP, OSS
Speakers from GWP: Gergana Majercakova, Senior Learning Specialist, GWPO, Laurent-Charles Tremblay-Levesque, IWRM Specialist, GWPO
GWP’s Delegation:
- Fabiola Tabora, Regional Coordinator of GWP Central America
- Gergana Majercakova, Senior Learning Specialist, GWPO
- Laurent-Charles Tremblay-Levesque, IWRM Specialist, GWPO
- Valentin Aich, Senior Water & Climate Specialist, GWPO
- Dimitris Faloutsos, Thematic Lead for Transboundary Water Governance, GWP