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Definition of Desertification
A Brief
Introduction to the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD)
Are the deserts advancing? Despite some rhetoric at times of crisis, the sands are not steadily spreading over neighboring land. Deserts may seem to expand when the rains are poor over a long period, but they usually retreat again with good rainfall.
So, is everything alright? No. Land degradation is continuing and increasing at an alarming pace, seriously eroding the world's precious store of productive land. When it happens in the world's drylands it often creates desert-like conditions and is called "desertification". This process happens piecemeal as different areas of degraded land spread and merge together, rather than through advancing desert.
Is it just an act of God, or the weather? No. Drought is part of the cause of desertification and certainly makes things worse. But essentially it is a man-made problem. It arises from placing too much pressure on the land.
Is it only a problem for the poor in developing countries? No. One billion of the poorest and most marginalised people of the earth - who live in the most vulnerable areas - may be the most severely affected by desertification. But it has other victims too. Some 18 developed countries suffer from desertification. And developed countries as a whole - and more favoured areas of developing countries - are already being affected indirectly as people migrate to them after being unable to live off their degraded. Desertification provides one of the most graphic examples of how poverty anywhere endangers prosperity and sustainability everywhere.
So, what is Desertification? The definition agreed by the world's leaders at the 1992 Earth Summit and adopted by the Convention is: "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities."
An Innovative Solution
Combating desertification is essential to ensuring the long-term productivity
of inhabited drylands. Unfortunately, past efforts have too often failed, and
around the world the problem of land degradation continues to worsen.
Recognizing the need for a fresh approach, over 110 governments have signed the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This Convention aims to promote effective action through innovative local programs and supportive international partnerships.
The treaty acknowledges that the struggle to protect drylands will be a long one -- there will be no quick fix. This is because the causes of desertification are many and complex, ranging from international trade patterns to the unsustainable land management practices of local communities. Real and difficult changes will have to be made, both at the international and the local levels.
National Action Programs and Partnership Agreements
Countries affected by desertification will implement the Convention by
developing and carrying out national, sub-regional, and regional action
programs. Criteria for preparing these programs are detailed in the
treaty's four "regional implementation annexes" for Africa (considered a
priority because that is where desertification is most severe), Asia,
Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Northern Mediterranean.
Drawing on past lessons, the Convention states that these programs must adopt a democratic, bottom-up approach. They should emphasize popular participation and the creation of an "enabling environment" designed to allow local people to help themselves to reverse land degradation.
Of course, governments will remain responsible for creating this enabling environment. They must make politically sensitive changes, such as decentralizing authority, improving land-tenure systems, and empowering women, farmers, and pastoralists. They should also permit non-governmental organizations to play a strong role in preparing and implementing the action programmes.
In contrast to many past efforts, these action programs must be fully integrated with other national policies for sustainable development. They should be flexible and modified as circumstances change.
The Convention's action programs will be developed through consultations among affected countries, donors, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. This process will improve coordination and channel development assistance to where it can be most effective. It will also produce partnership agreements that spell out the respective contributions of both affected and donor states and of international organizations.
Developed countries are expected to encourage the mobilization of substantial funding for the action programs. They should also promote access to appropriate technologies, knowledge, and know-how.
The need for coordination among donors and recipients is stressed because each program's various activities need to be complementary and mutually reinforcing.
Sustainable Development
The Convention opens an important new phase in the battle against
desertification, but it is just a beginning. In particular, governments will
need to regularly review the action programmes. They will also focus on
awareness-raising, education, and training, both in developing and developed
countries.
Desertification can only be reversed through profound changes in local and international behavior. Step by step, these changes will ultimately lead to sustainable land use and food security for a growing world population. Combating desertification, then, is really just part of a much broader objective: the sustainable development of countries affected by drought and desertification.
Somali Environmental Protection and Anti-Desertification
Organization (SEPADO)
The African country Somalia has been experiencing civil war for many years.
Breakdown of orderly civilian processes during war invariably has negative
impacts on the environment. Lack of central government regulation and
monitoring, coupled with lack of environmental awareness among citizens,
leads to widespread exploitation of natural resources. This is particularly
devastating in Somalia where 60% of the population are nomads. The Somali
Environmental Protection and Anti-Desertification Organisation (SEPADO)
was formed in 1996 as a non-governmental
organization (NGO) to attempt to combat the environmental destruction in
Somalia. For a broader picture of the
environmental problems of Somalia read the Environmental
Degradation in Somalia.
This is a good example of the important role of NGOs in addressing issues for
which governments cannot or will not take responsibility.