Combating drought and desertification

The high level segment of the 6th session of the Conference of the parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP-6) is taking place in La Havana, Cuba from 1-2 September 2003. Commenting on the Conference Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson said: "Drought, desertification and poverty go hand in hand. Delivering on sustainable development and poverty alleviation inevitably involves doing something about land degradation. This is what the UN Convention on desertification is all about and why it is so important. Since the adoption of the Convention in 1994 much energy has been put into defining the objectives. With this work well on track now is the time to deliver, to turn our intentions into concrete results for the poor. This will require that sustainable land use is made an integral element of Poverty Reduction Strategies in developing countries and that the Convention's objectives are effectively mainstreamed into development policy. The 6th Conference offers an ideal opportunity to address these challenges. I also see the 6th session of the Conference as an opportunity for closer ACP-EU co-operation in the fight against drought and desertification. Our formidable co-operation leading up to this Conference - resulting in the joint paper approved by the ACP-EU Council of Ministers meeting in May 2003 - has been an encouraging sign of our shared willingness and ability to meet these challenges."

The UNCCD was adopted as a follow-up to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and came into force in 1996. The objective of the Convention is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.

The Conference of the Parties is held on a biannual basis. It was last convened 8-9 October 2001. It reviews the implementation of the Convention; promotes and facilitates the exchange of information; approves the budget and activity programmes of its subsidiary bodies. Discussions during the High level segment will centre around: (i) the UNCCD as a tool to achieving the Millennium development goals on poverty eradication and food security; and (ii) on funding for the promotion of sustainable development in arid ecosystems.


Background information on the event and on the UN-CCD is available at :

http://www.unccd.int/cop/cop6/menu.php

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