Argentina

San Juan. In the occasion of the WDCD, the Environmental Association ECO-CLUB San Juan and the Tourism Commission of the Cuyo Region organized the “First Inter-parliamentarian Forum on Desertification”, which was held in the Governors’ Room of the Province. The event was attended by parliamentarians and local stakeholders.

Santiago del Estero. The NGO GADE together with the Achalay Group organized on June 17 an art exhibition of 20 paintings, in the framework of the project “ Environmental view of the Chaco region from a plastic art perspective”. These Paintings, using mixed techniques, were the size of 1mx1m.

Puna Region. The NGO Fundacion Ecoandina organized a national workshop in the Region with the aim of raising awareness on the desertification and identifying the local sustainable alternatives that could be implemented in order to combat desertification.
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Bolivia

La Paz. To celebrate the WDCD, the National Authority of the Titicaca Lake (TDPS – ALT), organized a debate on “ Threats and options/means to combat desertification in the TDPS system” . The forum was held in La Paz and convened representatives of institutional entities together with civil society organizations. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness at global level on the immediate necessity to take action towards desertification issues.

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Canada

Ottawa. To mark the 2008 World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canada’s lead agency for development assistance, hosted a special forum on “Small Scale Agriculture – an essential component of sustainable livelihoods in the face of land degradation, desertification and adaptation to climate change in Africa”. The forum gathered together representatives from a wide range of Canadian civil society Organizations, the CIDA, government departments, and national and international institutions involved in small-scale agriculture and dryland sustainability activities. Several NGO networks and other institutions, such as the Food Security Policy Group, the C4D (Climate Change for Development) and the International Development Research Centre, participated in the meeting. The workshop focused on the sharing of of knowledge, experiences and best practices among all sectors concerned with desertification, sustainable agricultural systems and rural development and encouraged deeper understanding of the importance of sustainable local agriculture systems to combat land degradation, drought and desertification. For more information, please see the report (English , French)

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Chile

On June 17, the NGO EarthAction Chile produced a radio radio programme in cooperation with Radio Tierra Chile on the issue of desertification and drought in the country.

On the same day, the NGOs RIOD - ALC and Drynet and the Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Medioambientale organized a national symposium entitled "Día Mundial de Lucha contra la Desertificación ¿Qué hacemos en Chile?" with the participation of NGO representatives and government officials from the whole country.
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Cuba

The Ministry of Environment of Cuba contributed to celebrate the WDCD with several initiatives focusing on the importance of desertification and land degradation as a global and urgent issue to be tackled.

Various articles were published in the major headings of the country, and media coverage was distributed at local, regional and national levels.

In the framework of the country’s activities in promoting sustainable development, various scientific and cooperation institutions organized scientific and educational workshops all over the country. For example, an awareness raising initiative dedicated to scholars and university students was held in Villa Clara on June 17.

Every year on June 17, the NGO Asociacion Cubana de las Naciones Unidas (ACNU) organizes a “reforestation day” in the Mount Barreto. The CONVENCION TROPICO 2008 dedicated its second working session to the WDCD, with the organization of conferences and round tables on desertification and land degradation issues. For more information, please visit the activity report.

The Cuban NGOs in the RIOD-Cuba network organized a plantation of fruit and timber trees, in the framework of the Cuban “Plant your Tree Campaign”, within the UNEP world campaign “Plant for the Planet”
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Peru

On June 17, the Instituto Nacional de Recursos Ambientales (INRENA) UNCCD Focal Point of Peru, organized two events in San Isidro to celebrate the WDCD. The first event was a kids workshop, which aimed at raising awareness on the issue of desertification among children of the primary school. The second activity that took place was a series of conferences dedicated to university students and to the public at large.

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