Desertification: The Battle is On

Your action against desertification

This page reports on events and activities from around the world that promote action against desertification, land degradation and mitigation of drought. Your report is welcome (see contribution guidelines on the right).

Bonn Symposium 2009: Sustainable Development in Times of Crises
Opposition or Opportunity?

23 - 24 November 2009, World Conference Center Bonn / Deutsche Welle

Current global crises require short-term responses in order to avert immediate threats posed to human security. As a consequence, the long-term goal of “sustainable development” is marginalised in terms of its political relevance and is increasingly perceived as standing in direct opposition to the necessary measures taken under crisis.

In practice, however, climate change represents together with the current financial, energy and food crises acute signs of long-term mis-development. The root causes of these crises lie deep. Their break-out could have been, and their re-occurrence should be prevented through the early implementation of structural reforms.

Eventually, sustainable development remains meaningless without a coherent reflection upon the structural causes of these crises as well as upon our everyday lifestyles. The transition to sustainability therefore needs to translate into our individual lifestyles and our collective consumption patterns.

The Bonn Symposium 2009 calls for such a coherent reflection upon the structural causes of current crises as well as upon the sustainability of lifestyle norms, and presents practical recommendations to safeguard sustainable development in times of crises. See Concept Note, Program and Poster  

Presentations:

»  Understanding the impacts of Desertification, Land degradation and Drought (DLDD): impact indicators for the Strategy from COP9, Elysabeth David, UNCCD

»  Enhancing regional cooperation and building partnerships: a must for the effective implementation of the Convention, Massimo Candelori, UNCCD

»  Towards the Necessary Building Blocks for the Required Global Coalition to Combat DLDD, Yukie Hori, UNCCD

»  Opportunities for dryland investment under the UNCCD Policy Framework on DLDD: The Importance of Public Private Partnerships, Sergio Zelaya, UNCCD

»  The global scenario on delivering on Land: The UN Land Initiative, UN-EMG

»  Building Blocks for Sustainable Land Management, Dr. Anneke Trux, GTZ - CCD Project.

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Training of journalists on desertification and biodiversity: Lomé, Togo

The non-governmental organization Jeunes Volontaires pour l'Environnement (JVE) in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and the Enviromental Journalist Network, organized a workshop for environmental journalists on 7 August 2009, in Lomé, Togo. The purpose of the workshop was to inform journalists and media-related personnel about the relevance of desertification in the contexts of climate change, food security, biodiversity and other major global issues. The Workshop was attended by 35 participants from local and African media, who benefited from six presentations made by, among others, a government representative from the Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources, the UNCCD National Focal Point for Togo. The Workshop received national television, radio and newspaper media coverage. One of the outcomes of the Workshop was the establishment of a committee entrusted with ensuring that the workshop is replicated in both the North and Central parts of the country before the end of the year.

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Photo exhibition: Milan, Italy

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