United Nations Convention to combat desertification in countries seriously affected by drought

SUMMARY OF:

United Nations Convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly those in Africa

Council Decision 98/216/EC — conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the United Nations Convention to combat desertification

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE CONVENTION AND OF THE DECISION?

• The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. It focuses specifically on the world’s arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
• The decision ratifies the UNCCD on behalf of the European Community (now the EU).

KEY POINTS

• The UNCCD seeks to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in those countries experiencing serious drought/or desertification, particularly in Africa through effective action at all levels. These measures are underpinned by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.
• The UNCCD consists of 40 articles and 5 annexes defining the arrangements for implementing the convention in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the northern Mediterranean and in central and eastern Europe.
• Desertification primarily arises from human activity and climatic variations. It does not mean the advance of existing areas of desert. It is the result of the extreme vulnerability of the ecosystems in arid areas to over-exploitation and the inappropriate use of land. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices are all factors which have a harmful impact on the productivity of the land.

Measures under the UNCCD to combat desertification

• These include action to promote the integrated development of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas to:
  • prevent and/or reduce land degradation;
  • rehabilitate partly degraded land;
  • reclaim desertification areas.
• The UNCCD is implemented by means of national, sub-regional and regional programmes which are designed to form an integral part of a country’s national sustainable development policy. They are updated under an ongoing participative process in the light of work on the ground and the results of research.
• Local communities play a key role in the formulation and implementation of these action programmes as they are dependent on the land.
• Closer international cooperation between developed and developing countries is essential to implement the UNCCD. Nevertheless, the governments of the countries affected by desertification retain responsibility for creating an enabling environment to help local populations themselves bring an end to the process of land degradation. Governments must make politically sensitive changes such as:
  • greater decentralisation of decision-making;
  • improving land tenure systems; and
  • empowering women and farmers.

Finance

The UNCCD does not have a centralised financial mechanism for projects but there is a Global Mechanism to help mobilise substantial financial resources from existing sources and to rationalise and improve their management.

Governance

The Conference of the Parties is the convention’s supreme body. It is responsible for taking the decisions necessary to promote its effective implementation. The EU is represented at the Conference of the Parties by the European Commission in the case of matters coming within EU powers.

In October 2001, the 5th session of the Conference of the Parties set up a subsidiary body, the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (known CRIC). The Committee reviews and analyses the national progress reports on the Convention’s implementation submitted to the Conference of the Parties by the parties and by observers. Its aim is to use these examinations and analyses to improve the consistency, impact and efficiency of policies and programmes to restore the agro-ecological balance of dry areas.

Scientific and technological advice

A Committee on Science and Technology provides the Conference of the Parties with information and advice on scientific and technological matters relating to combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought. It is composed of government representatives competent in the relevant fields of expertise.

Strategic Framework

The UNCCD’s 2018-2030 Strategic Framework represents a global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations.

FROM WHEN DO THE DECISION AND THE CONVENTION ENTER INTO FORCE?

The convention was drawn up at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, was signed in 1994 and came into force on 26 December 1996. To date, 195 parties have ratified the convention which is a legally binding instrument.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• UNCCD (European Commission)
• About the Convention (UNCCD).

MAIN DOCUMENTS

United Nations Convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa — Declaration made by the European Community in accordance with Article 34(2) and (3) of the United Nations Convention to combat desertification in countries seriously affected by drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (OJ L 83, 19.3.1998, pp. 3-35)

Council Decision 98/216/EC of 9 March 1998 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the United Nations Convention to combat desertification in countries seriously affected by drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (OJ L 83, 19.3.1998, pp. 1-2)

last update 24.07.2019