UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) was adopted in Paris, France on June 17, 1994. 179 governments have subscribed as of March 2002. The Convention promotes effective action to prevent land degradation through innovative local programmes and a network of international partnerships.
The causes of desertification include many complex and interrelated global events, such as international trade patterns and unsustainable land management practices. Combating desertification is essential to ensuring the long-term productivity of drylands. Achieving this objective involves long-term integrated strategies that focus simultaneously on improved the productivity of land and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources, leading to improved living conditions, in particular at the community level.
Affected countries are implementing the CCD by developing national, sub-regional, and regional action programmes. Programme criteria are detailed in the five regional implementation annexes: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Northern Mediterranean, and Central and Eastern Europe.
To ensure a democratic approach, popular participation is encouraged by the CCD to allow local people to help themselves while reversing land degradation. Governments are required to make supportive changes such as decentralizing authority, improving land-tenure systems, and empowering women and local inhabitants. Non-governmental organizations, donors and intergovernmental organizations also play a strong role in preparing and implementing the action programmes. This collaborative process improves coordination and directs development assistance to prioritized areas. Partnership agreements that clarify respective contributions benefit both the affected countries and the donor states. Developed countries are expected to encourage the mobilization of substantial funding for the action programmes and to promote access to appropriate technologies and knowledge.
The CCD recognizes that efforts to combat desertification should complement efforts to protect biodiversity. Many important food crops, such as barley and sorghum, originate in drylands. Indigenous varieties remain a vital resource for plant breeders because of their resistance to stresses such as disease. The CCD advocates international co-operation and an integrated approach that is consistent with Agenda 21 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Although the CCD addresses the specific problem of desertification and drought, it also advocates research into the causes of desertification and the implementation of action plans. The CBD, having a wider scope that concentrates on habitat and ecosystem conservation, works collaboratively with the CCD by recognizing the importance of understanding the value of land and scarce water resources.
Online resources:
The Global Mechanism of the CCD
RIOD International NGO Network on Desertification
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