RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
49/115. Observance of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming the relevant provisions of chapter 12 of Agenda 21, 1/ adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
Considering that the promotion of action to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, 2/ requires public awareness at local, national, subregional, regional and international levels,
Acknowledging that desertification and drought are problems of global dimension in that they affect all regions of the world and that joint action by the international community is needed to combat desertification and drought, particularly in Africa,
Recognizing the importance and necessity of international cooperation and partnership in combating desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, adopted by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Paris on 17 June 1994,
Recognizing also the strong commitment of the international community to implementing the Convention and its regional implementation annexes,
1. Decides to proclaim 17 June World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, to be observed beginning in 1995;
2. Invites all States to devote the World Day to promoting public awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the organization of conferences, round-table meetings, seminars and expositions relating to international cooperation to combat desertification and the effects of drought and the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and its regional implementation annexes;
3. Invites the Secretary-General to make recommendations on ways and means by which the Secretariat could assist Member States, upon their request, in organizing their national activities for the observance of the World Day;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements to ensure the success of the observance by the United Nations of the World Day; 5. Invites all relevant United Nations bodies, within their mandates, and non-governmental organizations to promote World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
92nd plenary meeting
19 December 1994
World Day to Combat Desertification 2009 "Conserving land and water = Securing our common future"
This year's WDCD has a special significance for the UNCCD. 15 years ago on 17 June 1994, the Convention was adopted and opened to signature.
The World Day to Combat Desertification is observed every year on 17 June. This year, the Day's theme is "Conserving land and water = Securing our common future "
Desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) threaten human security by depriving people of their means of life – by taking away food, access to water, the means for economic activities, and even their homes. In worst-case scenarios, they undermine national and regional security, force people to leave their homes and can trigger low- or high-level intensity conflicts.
On this World Day to Combat Desertification, we would like to remind everyone threats to soil security unleashed by desertification, land degradation and the effects of drought constitute a peril to securing our common future.
The World Day to Combat Desertification has been observed since 1995 (General Assembly Resolution A/RES/49/1995) to promote public awareness relating to international cooperation to combat desertification and the effects of drought, and the implementation of the UNCCD. Last year, more than 40 events took place all over the world (see the 2008 report). We can celebrate the Day through organizing activities such as seminars, media events and campaigns. Every single activity involving community participation and cooperation is encouraged!
The Convention
The international community has long recognized that desertification is a major economic, social and environmental problem of concern to many countries in all regions of the world. In 1977, the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) adopted a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD). Unfortunately, despite this and other efforts, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded in 1991 that the problem of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas had intensified, although there were ”local examples of success ”.
As a result, the question of how to tackle desertification was still a major concern for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Conference supported a new, integrated approach to the problem, emphasizing action to promote sustainable development at the community level. It also called on the United Nations General Assembly to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INCD) to prepare, by June 1994, a Convention to Combat Desertification, particularly in Africa. In December 1992, the General Assembly agreed and adopted resolution 47/188.
Working to a tight schedule, the Committee completed its negotiations in five sessions. The Convention was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and opened for signature there on 14-15 October 1994. It entered into force on 26 December 1996, 90 days after the fiftieth ratification was received. 193 countries were Parties as at August 2009. The Conference of the Parties (COP), which is the Convention's supreme governing body, held its first session in October 1997 in Rome, Italy. The ninth session of the conference of the Parties will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 21 September to 2 October 2009
Mandate
The UNCCD Secretariat
The permanent Secretariat of the UNCCD was established during the first Conference of the Parties (COP 1) held in Rome in 1997. It has been located in Bonn, Germany since January 1999, and moved from its first Bonn address in Haus Carstanjen to the new UN campus in July 2006.
The functions of the secretariat are to make arrangements for sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its subsidiary bodies established under the Convention and to provide them with services as required. One key task of the secretariat is to compile and transmit reports submitted to it.
The secretariat also provides assistance to affected developing country Parties, particularly those in Africa. This is important when compiling information and reports required under the Convention. UNCCD activities are coordinated with the secretariats of other relevant international bodies and conventions, like those of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
National, regional and sub-regional programmes
National Action Programmes (NAP) are one of the key instruments in the implementation of the Convention. They are strengthened by Action Programmes on Sub-regional (SRAP) and Regional (RAP) level. National Action Programmes are developed in the framework of a participative approach involving the local communities and they spell out the practical steps and measures to be taken to combat desertification in specific ecosystems.
First Announcement of an International Scientific Consultation and Conference on
UNDERSTANDING DESERTIFICATION AND LAND DEGRADATION TRENDS BIO-PHYSICAL
AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF DESERTIFICATION
AND LAND DEGRADATION, TO SUPPORT DECISION-MAKING IN LAND AND WATER
MANAGEMENT
In support of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) under the auspices of its Committee on Science and Technology (CST) Organized by the Dryland Science for Development Consortium (DSD) with the assistance of the UNCCD Secretariat. Date: 22nd - 24th September 2009 Venue: The Hilton Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina
PURPOSE
To analyze and summarize leading scientific knowledge on the Conference topic, in ways that generate practical, actionable recommendations for deliberation by the UNCCD Conference of Parties (COP) to more effectively combat desertification in affected States, regions and globally.
FORMAT
During the months leading up to the Conference, a consultation phase will be organised through three globally-constituted Working Groups. They will develop analyses that reflect prevailing scientific consensus on three facets of the Conference topic:
1.- WG I. Integrated methods for monitoring and assessment of land degradation processes and drivers (Land Quality Assessment)
2.- WG II. Monitoring and assessing land rehabilitation and sustainable land management (Sustainable Land Management Assessment)
3.- WG III. Monitoring and Assessment of Desertification and Land Degradation: Economic and Social Drivers and Knowledge Management
The Working Groups will prepare written analyses and an overall synthesis, and draft recommendations for consideration at the Conference. The Scientific Conference event will take place during the CST Session of the Ninth Conference of Parties of the UNCCD in late 2009. Each Working Group topic will be reviewed and discussed in half-day sessions opened by prominent keynote speakers, followed by synthesis sessions to finalize the recommendations for the CST.
Parliamentary declarations
"We propose the creation - under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union - of a Parliamentary Network on the UNCCD (PNoUNCCD), a network of information, interaction and influence aimed at increasing parliamentary involvement and efficiency in the fields of combating desertification, soil erosion and land degradation"
"We endorse a parliamentary action plan and we recognize the unique role of parliamentarians in scrutinizing, monitoring and holding national governments to account in respect of the implementation of international agreements and we shall work to put in place:
- New regulatory and administrative foundations to make the integrated approach to sustainable development permeate every act of government.
- National strategies for sustainable development that include a measure of decentralization of public and private institutions for appropriate local decisions in order to provide a coherent policy framework and measurable targets"
(Excerpt from the declaration adopted by members of Parliament, Havana 2003)
Starting with the second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-2) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Parliamentarian Round Tables (RTs) have become a platform for an exchange of views and interaction between parliamentarians on sustainable development and more specifically, desertification. The involvement of members of parliament in the UNCCD process is essential because of the political aspect of the Convention.
Combating desertification and promoting sustainable human development require an overall strong political commitment. The Round Tables are organised by the UNCCD Secretariat with the support of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the host country. As a world’s parliaments organisation, the IPU, in particular its Committee on Sustainable Development Trade and Finance, plays a crucial role in the organization of the Round Tables.
Since 1998, date of the first Round Table, a parliamentary dimension has been added to the UNCCD process and the Conference of the Parties (COP). The Parliamentarian RT became an integral part of the COP session. Because of the high political relevance of land degradation, soil erosion and desertification issues, there is a need for higher parliamentarian involvement in the implementation of the UNCCD at the national and international levels. Parliamentarians must ensure the elaboration and adoption of pertinent legislation in order to facilitate the effective implementation of sustainable development measures.
Declarations adopted by members of parliament after each Round Table are fully integrated into the final report of the COP and Members of Parliament commit themselves to undertake concrete actions aimed at enhancing the cause of anti-desertification and sustainable development.
The Declarations adopted after each Round Table constitute the framework of their engagement toward the achievement of sustainable development.In particular, the Declaration adopted in Havana constitutes a suitable framework of their engagement toward the achievement of sustainable development.
Sources:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N95/762/73/PDF/N9576273.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/june17/2009/menu.php
http://www.unccd.int/convention/menu.php
http://www.unccd.int/secretariat/menu.php
http://www.unccd.int/actionprogrammes/menu.php
http://www.unccd.int/science/menu.php
http://www.unccd.int/parliament/menu.php