Deserts are among the "fragile ecosystems" addressed by
Agenda 21, and "combating desertification and drought" is the
subject of
Chapter 12. Desertification includes land degradation in
arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas resulting from various
factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
Desertification affects as much as one-sixth of the world's
population, seventy percent of all drylands, and one-quarter of
the total land area of the world. It results in widespread
poverty as well as in the degradation of billion hectares of
rangeland and cropland.
In addition to addressing desertification and drought in Agenda
21, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth
Summit) also called upon the United Nations General Assembly to
establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INCD) to
prepare, by June 1994,
an international convention to combat desertification in those
countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification,
particularly in Africa.
In December 1992, the General Assembly agreed
(resolution 47/188). The Convention was adopted in Paris on
17 June 1994 and opened for signature there on 14-15 October
1994. It entered into force on 26 December 1996. The year 2006
was declared by the United Nations General Assembly, in its
resolution (A/RES/58/211) The International Year of Deserts and
Desertification.
Combating desertification and drought has been discussed by the
Commission on Sustainable Development in several sessions. In
the framework of the Commission's current multi-year work
programme, the third cycle, CSD 16-17 in 2008 and 2009 will
focus on desertification and drought along with the interrelated
issues of
Land,
Agriculture,
Rural development and
Africa.
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