In paragraph 8 of resolution 32/172 of 19 December 1977, the General Assembly requested the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to report to it, through the Economic and Social Council, at its thirty-third session and every two years thereafter, on the irplenentation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification. The Governing Council's report on this matter to the Assembly at its thirty-fifth session constitutes section II of the annex of the present note.

Section IV of the annex highlights the constraints that still hinder the implementation of the Plan of Action, while section V presents the action taken by the Governing Council of UNEP at its eighth session.