First scientific session of the COP

The Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 21 September to 2 October 2009. More than 200 scientists and policy makers attended the first scientific session of the COP and stressed the importance of developing science-based methods for monitoring the areas most at risk to support land and water management decisions.