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The Desertification and Drought Day Regional virtual event of Annex IV, including the Northern Mediterranean Country Parties of the UNCCD, was held online on Wednesday, 16 June 2021. The event, which started at 1 p.m. (CET), was moderated by Mr. Erkan Güler (Turkey), Chair of Annex IV. The interventions during this session revolved around the theme of the 2021 Desertification and Drought Day: “Restoration. Land. Recovery”. As emphasized by Mr. Guler and UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary Ms. Tina Birmpili in their opening statements, the main objective of the event was to send out a strong message about land-centered solutions to build forward better. Ms. Birmpili also underlined the relevance of land degradation neutrality, saying, “We need to integrate land degradation neutrality initiatives and drought plans into international processes such as the Paris Agreement and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. We need global partnerships that allow us to share best practices, cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models”. During the event, representatives of six Annex IV Country Parties (Portugal, Slovenia, Israel, Italy, Hungary, and Turkey)shared their national experience on the fight against land degradation and drought. The session ended with the closing remarks of Mr. Peter Molnar, Vice-Chair of Annex IV. For more details, the presentations are available here: Hungary | Israel | Italy | Portugal | Slovenia | Turkey