10 April 2013 - The
world’s leading scientists on land degradation
and desertification are meeting from 9-12
April 2013 in Bonn, Germany, at the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) 2nd Scientific Conference, to assess
whether it is more economical for countries
and the international community to put the
measures needed to avert land over-exploitation
sooner rather than later.
The Conference will
issue the first global cost-benefit analysis
of land degradation, which some experts
are already comparing to the Stern Report
issued on Climate Change or The Economics
of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) that
provided an economic valuation of biological
diversity.
The UNCCD has 195 Parties.
It was negotiated as an outcome of the 1992
Rio Earth Summit to address the degradation
of land in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid
areas. Parties meet once every two years,
as a Conference, to assess progress in implementation
and take decisions on future actions. The
preparatory work of the Parties is carried
out through its subsidiary bodies, the Committee
on Science and Technology (CST) and the
Committee for the Review of the Implementation
of the Convention (CRIC).
With climate change
and a global population set to reach 9 billion
by 2050, land and soil experts are getting
alarmed that the land resource may come
under excessive pressure to meet growing
food, water, energy and other demands.
At the Scientific Conference,
South Africa will be represented by Prof.
Klaus Kellner, a vegetation restoration
ecologist from North West University, Mr
Graham von Maltiz, a land degradation specialist
at the CSIR, Dr James Gambiza, a land degradation
scientist from Rhodes University, and Mr
Muleso Kharika and Ms Thizwilondi Mulaudzi
from the technical line function of Sustainable
Land Management of the Department of Environmental
Affairs as the national focal point of the
UNCCD.
The CST of the Convention
has been instrumental in promoting collaboration
among scholars so that the development of
policies on land management can be built
on and assessed from sound science and cutting-edge
knowledge. The CST will engage in dialogue
with governments and other stakeholders
from all over the world on how the indicators
have been applied in the latest reports.
The indicators were agreed upon on the advice
of the UNCCD 1st Scientific Conference,
which was held during COP 9 in Argentina
in 2009, following the adoption of the UNCCD
10 Year Strategic Plan and Framework by
COP 8 in Spain.
Following the Scientific
Conference, government representatives will
meet from 15-19 April, also in Bonn, for
the eleventh session of the Committee for
the Review of Implementation of the UN Convention
to Combat Desertification (CRIC 11). It
is expected that South Africa’s delegation
to CRIC 11 will be joined by officials from
the Department of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries.
The Committee will review
and discuss the implementation of the Convention,
especially with regard to poverty and land
cover, and make recommendations from a scientific
viewpoint of the reports submitted by the
Parties and other stakeholders.
This eleventh meeting
of the CRIC marks the first time, since
the Convention was ratified in 1996, that
Parties have reported the results of their
activities using indicators that measure
impact, more specifically, poverty and land
cover. The outcomes of both meetings will
guide decision-making when the Parties to
the Convention meet towards the end of the
year for their eleventh session of the Conference
of the Parties.
+ More
Ministry of Water and
Environmental Affairs and Sanparks Board
saddened by the loss of lives during an
Anti-Poaching Operation in the Kruger National
Park
1 April 2013 - The Minister
and the Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental
Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa and Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi
together with the South African National
Parks (SANParks) Board, have expressed their
heartfelt condolences to the families, the
Ministry of Defence and colleagues of the
five people killed in a helicopter crash
in the Kruger National Park on Saturday.
The Ministry and SANParks
Board are saddened that the pilot and crew
of the South African Air Force Agusta A109
light utility helicopter were killed during
a routine air patrol during the anti-poaching
operation named Operation Rhino on Saturday
night. This operation is aimed at stemming
the scourge of rhino poaching in South Africa.
Of the 188 rhino poached
in South Africa as of last week, 135 had
been killed in the Kruger National Park
since January. The KNP remains the hardest
hit by the scourge of poaching of these
iconic animals having lost 425 rhino to
poachers during 2012.
The Ministry and SANParks
Board support the SA Air Force in determining
the sequence of events that led to the fatal
crash of the helicopter. We hope this sad
event will not deter our men and women working
tirelessly to protect our country’s rhino
population against the on-going scourge
of poaching by marauding bandits.
