At its 58th session, the UN General Assembly declared 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD).

In doing so, the General Assembly underlined its deep concern for the exacerbation of desertification, particularly in Africa, and noted its far-reaching implications for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which must be met by 2015. The IYDD is an opportunity to strengthen the visibility of the desertification issues on the international environmental agenda, while providing a timely reminder to the international community of the immense challenges that still lie ahead.

In this context, the United Nations University (UNU), together with a group of partner UN and international agencies jointly organized an international conference on “Desertification and the International Policy Imperative”. The conference was held from 17-19 December 2006, in Algiers, and was hosted by the Algerian Government. Previous meetings and conferences held to celebrate the IYDD called for the adoption of improved policies for combating desertification.

Most notably, the 8th International Conference on Development of Drylands (February 2006) and the International Scientific Conference on Deserts and Desertification “The Future of Drylands” (June 2006) identified a series of challenges for international policymakers.

This conference focused on examining the available international experience in the formulation of policies for combating desertification and drew on a series of case studies on the implementation of these policies.