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Media Statement
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
MONDAY, 03 SEPTEMBER 2007:
Officials from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism are currently attending the eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP8), which is taking place in Madrid, Spain from 03 to 14 September 2007.
The UNCCD is the centerpiece of the international community’s efforts to combat desertification and land degradation in the drylands. The UNCCD was adopted on 17 June 1994, entered into force on 26 December 1996, and currently has 191 parties.
The UNCCD recognizes the physical, biological and socioeconomic aspects of desertification, the importance of redirecting technology transfer so that it is demand-driven, and the involvement of local communities in combating desertification and land degradation. The core of the UNCCD is the development of national, subregional and regional action programmes by national governments, in cooperation with donors, local communities and NGOs.
Land degradation is an ecological problem that manifests itself both at local level by affecting the economic well being of people and at a global level by undermining the integrity, stability functions and services of ecosystems. More than 250 million people in over 110 countries are directly affected by desertification and about one billion people are at risk. Arid areas of all continents have deserts. However desert margins, semi-deserts and steppes with their vulnerable natural resources are the major areas affected by desertification.
Desertification and climate change linkages lead to a multitude of socio-economic problems for vulnerable communities, especially in Africa. Most of African communities live on agriculture-based economies, and survive by subsistence farming or productivity of marginal lands. However, activities that take place in the developed economies can indirectly contribute to the livelihood of these distant communities due to the global impacts of climate change and desertification. The most vulnerable continent is Africa; with about 60% of its total area covered by deserts or drylands. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that desertification costs Africa about US$ 9 billion a year.
The socio-economic dimension of desertification is most pronounced in Africa where extensive areas bordering the Sahara are affected.
About half of Southern Africa is semi-arid, and thus vulnerable to the effects of desertification. Some of the most vulnerable regions are the areas around the edges of the Kalahari Desert and some regions in the Karoo. The region around Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme as one of the top five endangered dryland regions in the world.
South Africa’s government Departments, private sectors and national research institutions are involved in multi-pronged programmes to identify vulnerable regions, and mitigation actions to alleviate the threat posed by desertification and climate change.
The Eighth A high-level interactive dialogue on the theme "Desertification and adaptation to Climate Change” will also take place. The seventh Round Table of Members of Parliament will occur at the margins of the Conference to address issues ranging from “Challenges of forced migration due to drought and desertification” to “Meeting the Challenges of combating desertification as they relate to climate change.”
Affected countries that are party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification have an obligation to prepare a National Action Programme (NAP) for the implementation of the provisions of the convention. NAPs provide a framework of partnerships that calls for all government structures, scientific research institutions communities, non-government organizations and private sector to work together and for the international community to provide the necessary technology, capacity development and financial resources for the implementation of the Convention.
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