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In
depth I
Desertification
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Soil erosion is the silent global crisis
Source:
IPS
Delegates at the 2007 International Forum on Soils in Iceland will consider propositions for an International Year of Land Care to focus attention on soil stewardship, which affects food and water security worldwide. September 2007.[see more]
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The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification defines desertification as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities". Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification. One billion people in over 100 countries are at risk, including many of the world's poorest, most marginalized, and politically weak citizens.
Fighting desertification is essential to ensuring the long-term productivity of inhabited drylands. Unfortunately, efforts to combat the ever-increasing problem have often failed and, as a result, land degradation continues to worsen.
The Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) was adopted by governments in June 1994 and came into force in December 1996. As the third convention envisaged by the Earth Summit, (the other two deal with biodiversity and climate change), the CCD aims to combat desertification and reduce the effects of drought in dry areas, particularly in Africa, the most severely affected continent.
In October 1997, the Convention launched the Global Mechanism to act as a broker between affected countries, the donor community and the private sector, mobilizing resources for anti-desertification programmes.
Combating desertification is really just part of a much broader objective: the sustainable development of countries affected by drought and desertification.
Versión
en español
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News |
| Up-to-date current affairs information. |
Thu Jun 30 2005
Climate change will shift sands and destroy desert ecosystems
Tue Jul 06 2004
Women and desertification
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In-depth
reports |
| Detailed
reports on key issues |
Agriculture and food sovereignty
Farmers could produce enough food to eradicate world hunger. So, why won’t they let them?
Wetlands conservation
Nearly half of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed, adding yet another threat to to the earth’s ecosystems.
The water crisis
If access to water is a basic human right, should its provision be left in the hands of private corporations?
Climate change
Climate change is widely considered to be one of the gravest threats to the sustainability of the planet.
Rio+10: Earth Summit 2002
Ten years after Rio ’92, is there still an agenda for sustainable development?
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Civil society |
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Official information |
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Information resources |
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Articles and reports |
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Sustainable Agriculture Pushing Back the Desert
Source: I-SiS
Desertification – land degrading into desert – is often blamed on mismanagement and misuse of land. Local people are allegedly guilty of over-farming, over-grazing and allowing their populations to exceed the environment’s capacity. Lim Li Ching contests this myth, describing how local farmers in arid Africa are using innovative means to farm productively without destroying the environment, and highlights some criteria for sustainable agriculture.
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Grassroots Indicators for Desertification
Source: IDRC
The book, edited by Helen Hambly and Tobias Onweng Angura, documents why grassroots indicators should play a key role in the monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems for sustainable development and, more specifically, in efforts to reverse desertification and other forms of land degradation.
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Climate change and the Mediterranean region
Source: Greenpeace
This report examines the potential implications of global climate change for the Mediterranean region. Drawing on the results of recent studies, it reviews possible changes in climate together with recent trends, the potential impacts of climate change and the implications for sustainable development.
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Gender and sustainable development in drylands: an analysis of field experiences
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization
Drylands pose different challenges for rural men and women because of their different roles, relations and responsibilities, opportunities and constraints, and uneven access and control of resources. Furthermore, agricultural, environmental and related policies and programmes often fail to recognise women’s particular needs and crucial contribution in the use and management of dryland resources (pdf version).
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Dryland conservation and development: striking a balance
Source: UNDP
One-billion people live in dry regions of the world, which cover nearly 40 per cent of the Earth's surface. What they all have in common is a reliance on natural resources -including biodiversity, which is declining at a rate unprecedented in recorded history. A new report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) analizes 19 case studies of dryland management in an attempt to marry conservation of biodiversity with development in poor countries. Chapters are available for download in PDF format. May 2005.
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Indigenous land turns to desert
Source: Tierramérica
Forty-five percent of Bolivian territory is undergoing a relentless process of desertification, with agricultural, forestry and infrastructure losses valued at more than 500 million dollars a year -- and it is taking a particular toll on the indigenous communities of the high plains. August 2005.
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Trade, desertification and livelihoods
Source: Friends of the Earth International
Desertification has long been recognized as a major environmental problem, with adverse impacts on the livelihoods of people in affected areas around the world. An increasing focus on exports to northern markets, combined with potential conflicts between trade rules and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, means that further trade liberalization could worsen rather than improve this situation. As part of a report released on the eve of the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong, this article looks into de impacts of trade liberalization on countries affected by desertification. December 2005.
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Global deserts outlook 2006
Source: UNEP
The world's deserts are facing dramatic changes as a result of global climate change, high water demands, tourism and salt contamination of irrigated soils. Global and regional instability, leading to more military training grounds, prisons and refugee holding stations, may also be set to modify the desert landscape says a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). June 2006.
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Gender and desertification: expanding the roles of women
Source: IFAD
Desertification affects women and men differently due to their strictly gendered division of labour. Through their daily work, women have acquired extensive knowledge on managing natural resources and drylands, which would enable them to play a crucial role in combating desertification. However, women often do not have decision-making authority, property rights, or access to resources, and are excluded from being involved in dryland development projects. Report prepared by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). June 2006. (PDF document).
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Women's expertise key to rolling back deserts
Source: IPS
Empowering and investing in women is the key to combating the effects of desertification and paving the way for rural poverty alleviation in many of the world's least developed countries (LDCs), according to researchers, government policy-makers and United Nations experts. September 2006.
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Plans to halt desertification in Africa a work in progress
Source: IPS
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) requires signatories to create national action plans for dealing with this scourge that allow sustainable development and encompass participation by communities, amongst others. At present, 34 of the 53 countries in Africa have complied. Certain nations like Côte d'Ivoire, Libya and Guinea (which are partially or mostly affected by desertification) are not part of this group of 34, however. February 2007.
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Conserving and rebuilding soils
Source: Earth Policy Institute
In reviewing the literature on soil erosion, references to the "loss of protective vegetation" occur again and again. Over the last half-century, so much of that protective cover has been removed by clearcutting, overgrazing, and overplowing that we are fast losing soil accumulated over long stretches of geological time. Eliminating these excesses and the resultant decline in the earth's biological productivity depends on a worldwide effort to restore the earth's vegetative cover, an effort that is now under way in some countries. July 2007.
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Desertification 2002 Conference |
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Other meetings on desertification |
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