Fortaleza (Brazil) /
Nairobi, 16 August 2010 - The United Nations
is launching the Decade for Deserts and
the Fight against Desertification (2010-2020)
today, an 11-year long effort to raise awareness
and action to improve the protection and
management of the world's drylands, home
to a third of the world's population and
which face serious economic and environmental
threats.
"Continued land
degradation - whether from climate change,
unsustainable agriculture or poor management
of water resources - is a threat to food
security, leading to starvation among the
most acutely affected communities and robbing
the world of productive land," said
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a statement
announcing the launch.
"As we begin the
Decade on Deserts and the Fight against
Desertification, let us pledge to intensify
our efforts to nurture the land we need
for achieving the Millennium Development
Goals and guaranteeing human well-being,"
he added.
On a global scale, desertification
- land degradation in drylands - affects
3.6 billion hectares, which accounts for
25 percent of the Earth's terrestrial land
mass. It threatens the livelihoods of more
than 1 billion people in some 100 countries.
Against this backdrop,
member states of the United Nations addressed
growing desertification and land degradation
by adopting a resolution to dedicate the
next decade to combating desertification
and improving the protection and management
of the world's drylands in 2007.
The global launch took
place in Fortaleza, Brazil, in the State
of Ceara, Brazil's semi-arid region, during
the Second International Conference: Climate,
Sustainability and Development in Semi-arid
Regions.
Also today, the regional
launch for Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya,
at the headquarters of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and in partnership
with the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP). Other regional launches are scheduled
to take place in New York, in September,
for the North American Region, in the Republic
of Korea in October, for the Asian Region,
and in November for the European region.
While concerns about
desertification are growing, it is not all
doom and gloom. Efforts have been made to
address land degradation and while there
have been positive outcomes, more action
is needed to arrest and reverse land degradation
and creeping desertification worldwide.
Luc Gnacadja, Executive
Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification warned that the international
community is at a crossroads, and must decide
between a business-as-usual approach that
will be characterised by severe and prolonged
droughts, flooding and water shortages or
an alternative path, that "channels
our collective action towards sustainability".
He added that the Decade's
message stresses that land is life, "so,
we must ensure the drylands, remain productive
and working" and that the vision for
the Decade is to "forge a global partnership
to reverse and prevent desertification and
land degradation and to mitigate the effects
of drought in affected areas in order to
support poverty reduction and environmental
sustainability".
Notes to Editors
Decade's History and
Purpose
In 2007, the United
Nations General Assembly declared 2010-2020
the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight
against Desertification and in December
2009, it mandated five UN agencies to spearhead
activities related to the Decade. These
are the United Nations Environment Programme,
the United Nations Development Programme,
the International Fund for Agricultural
Development and other relevant bodies of
the United Nations, including the Department
of Public Information of the United Nations
Secretariat.
The Decade is designed
to heighten public awareness about the threat
desertification, land degradation and drought
pose to sustainable development and ways
leading to their alleviation.
Value of Deserts and
Drylands
2.1 billion people,
about 40% of the world's population, live
in the world's deserts and drylands
90% of this population is in developing
countries
50% of the world's livestock is supported
by rangelands
46% of global carbon is stored in drylands
44% of all cultivated land is in drylands
30% of all cultivated plants come from drylands
8 of the 25 global hotspots
are in the drylands. These are areas where
0.5% of the plant species are endemic to
the region but habitat loss exceeds 70%
Desertification Threats
Desertification affects
3.6 billion hectares of land worldwide -
or 25% of the Earth's terrestrial land mass
110 countries at risk
of land degradation
12 million hectares of land, an area the
size of Benin, are lost every year
Annual land lost could produce 20 million
tons of grain
US$42 billion in income is lost every year
from desertification and land degradation
United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
Established in 1994,
the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally
binding international agreement linking
environment, development and the promotion
of healthy soils. The Convention's 193 signatory
countries, or Parties, work to alleviate
poverty in the drylands, maintain and restore
the land's productivity and mitigate the
effects of drought. The Convention expects
Iraq to be its 194th member next week with
Iraq's accession on 28 August.
