Source MB Communications
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA — As part of ongoing efforts to assess progress in combating desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD), and to track advancement toward achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), representatives from Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) joined countries from Latin America for a regional capacity-building and UNCCD national reporting exercise.
Contributing to global monitoring frameworks, including Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 15.3, the workshop encouraged the submission of timely, complete, and high-quality national reports through the PRAIS 4 platform.
The exercise follows a similar training held in Grenada in February 2026, led by the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) in its capacity as the reporting support hub for thirteen (13) Caribbean SIDS. The initiative was conducted in collaboration with Apacheta under the GEF-funded umbrella project implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The training, held from April 20–23 in Panama City, supported regional technicians—who are at various stages of implementation, adaptation, and refinement of their reporting approaches—in sharing progress to date, reflecting on practical challenges encountered, and exchanging solutions, innovations, and best practices related to data availability, integration, validation, and interpretation.
Ms. Tricianna Maharaj, PISLM Project Manager for UNCCD PRAIS Reporting for the Caribbean, noted, “The 2026 reporting cycle is not just another exercise, but a defining moment for how we, as a region, move beyond compliance and treat data as a strategic tool for decision-making, planning, and investment.”
While the workshop provided a structured platform for countries to compare approaches to using national and global data sources, adapt methodologies to national circumstances, and address common technical and institutional constraints, Ms Maharaj emphasised, “This is not just a technical improvement, but a shift toward national ownership of the reporting process.”
PISLM expressed its appreciation for collaboration with organisations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Conservation International (CI), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and Apacheta, with support from UNCCD staff. Through this partnership, PISLM continues to provide technical backstopping by offering targeted inputs, demonstrations, and clarifications, while prioritising country-led discussions and experience sharing.
The regional workshop was convened by the UNCCD, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implementation support from UNEP under the Global Support Programme for UNCCD Reporting (GSP IV).
Caribbean countries represented at the workshop included Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and Suriname.