Photo credit: IISD/ENB
Philippine Dutailly is France’s national focal point for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and chairs the subsidiary body focused on implementation of the UNCCD, which is meeting this week in Panama. In a GEF Voices interview, she shared life lessons from her work in environmental diplomacy, including the importance of building trust through listening, and the importance of youth perspectives in environmental planning.
What do you do for a living? What does your work entail?
I am the French national focal point for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, working as a policy officer on UNCCD-related topics at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in the environment and climate department.
I am also the Chairperson of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) for its 23rd and 24th sessions. As a subsidiary body focused on the implementation of the UNCCD, the CRIC makes recommendations to the Conference of the Parties to keep on improving our actions to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought. This is currently my main focus.
How did you get into this line of work?
My interest in environmental protection stems from my childhood. I grew up surrounded by nature in a rural region of France (le Limousin – look it up, it is gorgeous!) which is bordered by two regional natural parks. This compelled me to work for advancing nature protection and restoration. I chose to study political science with a specialization on environment and environmental negotiations. For my master’s degree, I did an internship at the French Scientific Committee on Desertification. I discovered there how fascinatingly complex the issues related to land and soil health are. This led me to follow the work of UNCCD more closely, which led me to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Is there a GEF-funded initiative that is close to your heart?
I would like to highlight the extraordinary work done by the GEF to foster the objectives of the Great Green Wall Initiative in the Sahara and the Sahel. This African-led initiative aims at combating desertification in 11 countries stretching from Senegal to Djibouti. Issues linked to desertification and drought are significant in this region of the world, with dramatic consequences on water availability, food security, and economic development. This is why the Great Green Wall is such a pioneering and ambitious initiative: by 2030, it aims at having restored 100 million hectares of land while having sequestered 250 million tons of carbon and created 10 million jobs.
Over the past decade, the GEF has developed several projects and programs to promote resilience and sustainable land management in the context of the Great Green Wall, encouraging synergies and multi-stakeholder engagement. For instance, in 2024, the GEF invested $87 million in the Transformation Approach to Large Scale Investment in Support of the Implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative, an effort to strengthen private sector engagement while promoting an integrated approach to design and implement Land Degradation Neutrality targets and action plans, as promoted by the UNCCD.
Has anyone you have met through your work made a lasting impact on you?
I am always very impressed to meet women in position of power in what used to be male-dominated fields. I have the chance to follow a convention in which both the executive secretary and the deputy executive secretary are women and former ministers in their respective countries of origin. It is very inspiring to have figures like them to look up to. They are paving the way for women and girls around the world.
What life lessons has your job taught you?
The message is often as important as the way it is conveyed. In diplomacy, the content of a message is key, but its impact depends on how it’s received – thus, on how it’s delivered. One’s idea can be strengthened (or weakened) by the tone, structure, or even timing used to deliver it. This is why to me diplomacy is also about knowing how to listen to people to better understand what speaks to them. I believe that clarity and sincere empathy help to build a key aspect of diplomacy: trust.
The state of the global environment is concerning. What gives you hope?
Youth! Young generations are the most climate-literate ones. They know what is at stake and understand the science behind the issues, fundamental prerequisite steps to triggering action. Talking about action, we see the rise of powerful yet easy-to-implement remedies in areas including local food systems, the circular economy, and nature-based solutions. Mainstreaming these is investing in resilience and in our future. Young people are doing a really good job at showing us the way.
What advice would you give a young person who is interested in a career like yours?
Be curious! Environmental diplomacy is a very broad field of work. There may be more than one topic or position that you may be interested in, even some that you do not even know exist. I would encourage young people to broaden their horizons by meeting people and by engaging in associations to trigger opportunities to learn new things. This helps build varied expertise which is an essential asset in this career.
