At its tenth session held in Changwon, Republic of Korea in October 2011, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNCCD acknowledged the need to mobilize scientific and technical expertise to address the problems of desertification/land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought. Decision 20/COP.10 stipulates "to set up an ad hoc working group, taking into consideration regional balance, to further discuss the options for the provision of scientific advice focusing on desertification, land degradation and drought issues, taking into account the regional approach of the UNCCD".
The AGSA will aim at proposing the most suitable components that would shape an integrated scenario for providing scientific advice to the UNCCD focusing on desertification/land degradation and drought issues, for consideration by the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) at its eleventh session (CST11).
At its
meeting from 29 - 30 May 2012 in Bonn, Germany, the CST Bureau finalized the selection of the
members of the AGSA. The AGSA consists of 12 members, comprising two experts per each regional group and two "global experts" selected among representatives of major synergistic efforts and relevant international conventions, organizations and institutions.
The
first meeting of the AGSA took place on 30-31 July 2012 in Bonn, Germany .
The
second meeting of the AGSA was held on 10 and 11 December 2012 in Bonn, Germany.
A third meeting of the AGSA will be organized on 29 and 30 April 2013 also in Bonn, Germany.