During the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a workshop was organized on 30 November- 1 December 2024 regarding Phase 2 of the ICCA GSI, which is delivered as co-financing to GEF SGP 8th Operational Phase (OP8). In this workshop, the participation of 50 SGP countries in Phase 2 of the ICCA GSI was reviewed, including the expected results and deliverables with respect to the three Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) “spatial targets.

Namely, these “spatial targets” are GBF Target 1, referring to integrated national land use and spatial planning;GBF Target 2 on ecosystem restoration as relevant to the cross-cutting priorities of the Convention to Biological Diversity, UNCCD and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; and GBF Target 3 on the role of protected and conserved areas, including “other effective area-based conservation measures” or OECMs, for the ’30 by 30’ target to protect 30% of land and seas by the year 2030.