Desertification was one of the first big environmental issues, attracting international public attention long before the major environmental concerns of today, such as biodiversity, climate change and deforestation. International attention, brought about by severe droughts in the Sudanese-Saharan regions in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Africa, led to the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD).The negotiating process on desertification is now at a critical stage: the implementation phase. It will now be revealed whether the document is a product that generates nothing but international bureaucracy or a useful tool in the struggle against land degradation. For goals of the CCD to become reality, the contentious issue of financial assistance has to be addressed. Developed countries need to acknowledge the difficulties developing countries face in implementing sustainable development strategies without external assistance. Additionally, political will and concrete commitments have to be demonstrated by the developing countries which are affected.