Pictured: Dr. Brian O’Connor (UNCCD Secretariat), right, & Bernd Eversmann (GEO-LDN Secretariat), left.
Panama City, Panama I 1-5 December 2025
During the 23rd Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC23), held from 1–5 December 2025, the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) hosted the side event “Innovative Technologies for Land Degradation Monitoring and Intervention.”
The session focused on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) reporting and intervention, bringing together leading experts to explore how innovative Earth Observation (EO) solutions, AI technologies, and harmonized data products can advance global efforts toward LDN.
Key contributions included:
- Dr. Brian O’Connor (UN Convention to Combat Desertification Secretariat) & Bernd Eversmann (GEO-LDN Secretariat) – “Strengthening LDN Reporting Through Harmonized and Accessible Global EO Products”
- Prof. Mingyuan Du (XIEG) – “Desertification and Land Degradation along the Belt and Road Initiative – Current Status and Future Directions”
- Dr. Ingrid Teich (WOCAT – World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern) – “Latest advancements in the SDG 15.3.1 GPG Addendum”
- 李晓松 Prof. Xiasong Li (CBAS) – “AI-enabled Intelligent Desertification Combatting in three north regions China”
Further country and agency perspectives were shared by:
- Professor Bo Wu (Director of Institute of Desertification, CAF) – “China’s Experience in Large-scale Land Restoration and Monitoring”
- Dr. Cesar Luis Garcia (CEO of Apacheta) – “SIDS Land Degradation Neutrality reporting”
- Yuanxin Jia (NFGA) – “Chinese Desertification Monitoring system”
The event concluded with a panel discussion on aligning EO data with national reporting and interventions, and on building dedicated support mechanisms for hyper-arid countries and Small Island Developing States.
The GEO-LDN flagship thanks CBAS for hosting this side event and all speakers for driving innovation and collaboration at CRIC23.
