China Pavilion holds side event at UN conference on desertification control

The China Pavilion at the ongoing 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) held its first side event to introduce to the world its experience in desertification control.

COP16, held from Dec 2 to 13 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the theme "Our Land. Our Future," is the largest UN land-focused conference to date and the first UNCCD COP in the Middle East and North Africa.

Liu Jun, Vice Chairman of the government of China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said at the side event that Ningxia has demonstrated and promoted a number of new technologies for desertification control with low management costs, such as the use of brush nets, blue algae sand crusts, and high-efficiency seedlings.

At the same time, Ningxia has actively served the "Belt and Road" construction, signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Secretariat of the UNCCD, and successfully held five international training courses on desertification control technology and practice.

Valerie Hickey, Global Director for Environment at the World Bank, said that China is at the forefront of the world in creating prosperity on desertified and degraded land, and the World Bank will work with China to promote these experiences to other parts of the world.

"Our mission at the world bank is to end poverty on a livable planet, and the Ningxia model has breathed life into that mission. It shows us the roadmap to ending poverty and building prosperity by creating a livable habitat, a better land, restore its landscapes. That's why other countries are watching. We want to learn from Ningxia," she said.

Johns Muleso Kharika, chief of Science, Technology and Innovation Unit of the Secretariat of the UNCCD, said that an international knowledge management center for desertification control jointly built by the Secretariat and the Ningxia regional government has become a valuable platform for sharing practices, promoting research and cultivating capacity building. This is a true model of South-South cooperation. Wu Zhimin, head of the forestry division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said that China's construction of "Green Great Wall" has come up with a variety of technical models that can be shared with countries facing similar problems and challenges.

China Pavilion holds side event at UN conference on desertification control

More than 3,200 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip from various crossings since the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect on Sunday.

The ceasefire agreement initiates six weeks of calm, raising hopes for an end to 15 months of Israeli assaults on Gaza that devastated the enclave and for the release of dozens of hostages held there.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that its Givati Brigade had withdrawn from the northern Jabalia area during the truce, but was preparing for potential future operations.

Also on Wednesday, Egypt announced that 300 aid trucks had passed through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza following inspections at the Al-Oja and Kerem Shalom crossings under the Israeli control. Among these, 25 trucks carried fuel, a critical resource for Gaza.

Egyptian officials and Red Crescent sources said that efforts are being made to prepare the Rafah crossing for two-way operations by the weekend, with heavy machinery repairing roads around the crossing and near Palestinian cities to facilitate the delivery of aid and the evacuation of injured Palestinians to Egypt.

Since the ceasefire tool effect on Sunday, over 3,200 aid trucks carrying food, medical supplies, and other essentials had entered Gaza through multiple crossings, according to reports as of Wednesday.

On the same day, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 808 trucks had entered Gaza to mark the fourth day of the truce.

The United Nations has identified Gaza's prioritized humanitarian needs including food relief, healthcare, hospital supplies, water network repairs, house reconstruction materials, and family reunifications.

The ceasefire agreement, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, was announced on January 15 and consists of three phases towards a permanent ceasefire between the parties.

Aid pours into Gaza as Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal enters fourth day