United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Desertification is one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, with an estimated 135 countries affected by this phenomenon. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established in 1994 to provide a comprehensive framework to help nations combat the negative impacts of desertification, land degradation, and drought. In this article, we will examine the background, objectives, and achievements of the UNCCD.

Desertification refers to degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas due to an array of factors. The direct impact of desertification is reduced biodiversity. The reasons are many such as climatic changes such as drought, or human such as overgrazing. Desertification is recognized as a major threat to biodiversity and consequently leads the countries to develop plans to counter its impacts. The opposite term (antonym) of Desertification is Oasification. In oasification, soil and nutrient harvesting are regarded as fundamental component parts in the reclamation process of a degraded land. This is a limited application technique and does not work to combat desertification as the area threatened is usually very large.

Background and Objectives

Desertification is a complex problem that is caused by a combination of natural and human factors, including climate change, overgrazing, deforestation, and poor land management practices. The problem is particularly severe in drylands, which are regions characterized by low rainfall, high temperatures, and limited vegetation. Drylands occupy approximately 40% of the earth’s land surface and are home to over 2 billion people.

The UNCCD was established to address the issue of desertification by promoting international cooperation and coordination among countries. The Convention’s overarching objective is to promote sustainable land management and to halt and reverse the degradation of dryland ecosystems. This is achieved through a combination of technical assistance, capacity building, and financial support to developing countries.

The Convention has four main objectives:

• To promote the implementation of national and regional strategies to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought.
• To promote the integration of desertification concerns into relevant sectors, including agriculture, forestry, and water management.
• To promote the exchange of information, knowledge, and experience related to the fight against desertification and the management of drylands.
• To mobilize financial resources and to facilitate the transfer of technology to support the implementation of national and regional strategies to combat desertification.

Achievements and Ongoing Efforts

Since the adoption of the UNCCD, significant progress has been made in the fight against desertification. The Convention has been successful in raising awareness about the issue, promoting international cooperation, and providing support to affected countries.

• One of the key achievements of the UNCCD is the development of the Country Programming Framework (CPF), which provides a comprehensive framework for the implementation of national and regional strategies to combat desertification. The CPF is a key tool for monitoring and reporting on the progress of countries in implementing the Convention.
• The UNCCD also provides technical assistance to countries in the form of expert advice and capacity building programs. This support is provided through a variety of channels, including the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• In addition to technical assistance, the UNCCD also provides financial support to countries through a number of funding mechanisms. The Global Mechanism of the UNCCD (GM) is one such mechanism, which provides financial and technical support to countries to implement their national action programs.

Ongoing efforts to combat desertification include the implementation of sustainable land management practices, the promotion of land rehabilitation and reforestation initiatives, and the development of alternative livelihoods for people living in drylands. The UNCCD also works with other organizations and initiatives, such as the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target, which aims to achieve a balance between the amount of land being degraded and the amount of land being restored.