Press releases

New York, USA, 22 September 2011 – A historic United Nations General Assembly meeting on desertification and drought, the first times heads of state and government have met to discuss the issue, concluded in New York yesterday. Closing the high-level meeting attended by over 100 heads of state and government, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the current session of the General Assembly said "unless desertification, land degradation and drought are addressed urgently wherever they occur, the three pillars of sustainable development would be corroded." In his summary, Al-Nasser said many leaders supported the establishment of an advisory panel to strengthen the scientific basis of the work. They also stressed making the UN Convention to Combat Desertification a global policy and monitoring framework to address the issues of soil and land degradation, building a land degradation neutral world and improving funding activities to recover degraded land. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said, "recent studies show that land degradation is occurring in humid, tropical areas at a faster rate than ever before. It is a phenomenon that now affects every region of the world. Let us resolve today to adopt a target of no more land degradation by the end of this decade. Let us make sustainable land-use a cornerstone of the green economy for poverty eradication and sustainable development." More than 100 Heads of State and Government and other high-ranking officials, attended the meeting three weeks before the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at its tenth session (COP 10), to be held in Changwon, Republic of Korea, from 10 to 21 October 2011. The UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja said "to sustain life on Earth we must build a land degradation neutral world. If we do not take bold actions to protect, restore and manage land and soils sustainably, we will miss climate change, biodiversity, forests and MDG targets. We will not alleviate rural poverty and hunger, ensure long-term food security, build resilience to drought and water stress. This will lead to consequences including more political conflicts over scarce resources and continued forced migrations." "Our most significant non-renewable geo resource is fertile land and soil. Nevertheless each year, an estimated 24 billion tons of fertile soil are lost. Arable land loss is estimated at 30 to 35 times the historical rate. In the drylands, due to drought and desertification 12 million ha are transformed in new man-made deserts each year. The world has continued building towards 'a soil peak' which will have far-worse consequences than the current 'oil peak'," he said. Land degradation is a global phenomenon, with 78% of the degrading land taking place in the non-drylands. A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows states that 900 million hectares of degraded land still offer opportunities for restoration, which is an opportunity for investment. During the opening Plenary, the UNCCD COP President, on behalf of the G77 and China and the incoming UNCCD COP10 President, Republic of Korea, as well as the representatives of the African States, the European Union and the United States of America echoed urgent calls for greater international awareness of the issue and concerted action to address it. At the beginning of the event, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, French photographer and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador previewed his new film 'Desertification'. It shows the impact the world's people have on the planet. At the launch of an earlier film he remarked, "It's too late to be pessimistic." At the press conference, Hifikenye Pohambo, President of Namibia, said "land degradation is a global problem, thus it must be addressed through joint efforts and cooperation." About the UNCCD Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda. The Convention focuses on all the world's drylands, home to over 2 billion people, 50% of the world's livestock and accounting for 44% of all cultivated ecosystems. The Convention's 194 Parties are dedicated to combating land degradation and mitigating the effects of drought in the drylands by improving the living conditions of the affected populations and ecosystems. Contact UNCCD Secretariat: Wagaki Mwangi, +49 228 8152820, mobile +49 173 2687593, email: wmwangi@unccd.int Yukie Hori, +49 228 8152829, mobile +49 173 2687590, email: yhori@unccd.int  

More than two billion people are affected by desertification, which leads to poverty, drought, famine, demographic pressures New York, United States, 19 September 2011 – The United Nations will convene a high-level meeting on Tuesday, 20 September to focus on actions to protect the drylands, home to two billion people. Productive lands in dry regions around the world are under increasing threat due to poor land management practices and climate change. More than 12 million hectares of productive land are lost due to desertification every year, the equivalent of losing an area the size of South Africa every decade. While productive land becomes scarcer, providing food for the 9 billion people predicted to live on Earth in 2050 will require a 70 per cent increase in global food production. The UN high-level meeting aims to spur actions to reverse desertification. To develop better policies for sustainable land management with a firmer scientific basis, one of the meeting's main discussion points will be the establishment of a global scientific panel to foster stronger connections between the scientific community and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). More than 100 Heads of State and Government, or Heads of Delegation, will participate in the high-level meeting, which will open with a 9:30am plenary, followed by interactive panels and a closing plenary at 5:45pm. A short film, "Desertification", by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, cinematographer and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme, will be screened at the meeting. "The people who live in the arid lands, which occupy more than 40 per cent of our planet's land area, are among the world's poorest and most vulnerable to hunger," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "Frequently, they depend on land that is degraded and where productivity has shrunk to below subsistence levels." While the term desertification often conjures up visions of land turning into barren tracts of sand, it actually refers to a less dramatic but equally destructive process - the loss of the capacity to grow crops or raise livestock in arid, semi-arid or dry sub-humid areas, so-called drylands, where some 2.3 billion people live in nearly 100 countries. "This high-level meeting will provide a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the global land degradation threat and the urgent need for stronger action," UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja said. "We are all at risk. Just 6-10 inches of top soil stand between us and extinction." By controlling and reversing desertification, curbing the effects of drought and restoring productive lands, there is an opportunity to make a direct positive contribution to reducing poverty, improving people's lives and meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. Addressing desertification ensures that reducing poverty and improving development are sustainable over the long term, especially with an expanding global population. After the meeting's conclusion, the President of the General Assembly will present a summary of the discussions to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification at its tenth session (COP 10), to be held in Changwon, Republic of Korea, from 10 to 21 October 2011, and to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, often referred to as Rio +20, to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 6 June 2012. About the UNCCD Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment, development and the promotion of healthy soils. The Convention's 194 signatory countries, or Parties, work to alleviate poverty in the drylands, maintain and restore the land's productivity, and mitigate the effects of drought. More information on the UN General Assembly High-level Meeting: /meetings/global/unga/menu.php For media information, contact: UN Department of Public Information: Dan Shepard, 1 212 9639495, shepard@un.org Wynne Boelt 1 212 9638264, boelt@un.org UNCCD Secretariat: Wagaki Mwangi, +49 228 8152820, wmwangi@unccd.int Issued by the UN Department of Public Information and UNCCD

Bonn, Germany, 13 September 2011 – Speaking at a Press Briefing in Bonn ahead of the special UN High-level meeting in New York on 20 September, UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja said world leaders must put a cap on land degradation. He said every year some 12 million hectares of land are degraded. 'We should work towards a land degradation neutral world through a target of zero net land degradation. The first priority is to prevent degradation. Where the land has already been degraded, we should reclaim and rehabilitate an equivalent area of land as an offset.' The historic meeting to take place at the UN Headquarters next week will provide an opportunity for world leaders to provide political impetus and guidance for a sustained global response to the world's desertification/land degradation challenges. It will provide a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the global land degradation threat and the urgent need for stronger action to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). 'There is a vaccine for the disease of land degradation. It has already been tried and tested. Now we need to roll it out worldwide. We need to invest heavily in sustainable land management globally.' 'The vaccine is being used in parts of south east Asia through agroforestry schemes, in Queensland, Australia through drought management programmes, and in Africa where Evergreen Agricultural systems have been adopted on more than six million hectares. However in many areas it is not happening fast enough.' 'We are only four years away from the Millennium Development Goal to eradicate poverty. But poverty persists in areas affected by desertification. More than a billion people are the victims of this. But it is not just the billion directly affected. We are all at risk. Yet there is gross underinvestment in these regions largely due to misperception. The remote location of drylands, political marginalization and associated lack of infrastructure have partly led to a limited access to markets, education and health facilities.' UN General Assembly Resolution 65/160 expressed concern over the increasing vulnerability of poor communities in Latin America, Caribbean, Asia, Northern Mediterranean, and Central and Eastern European Regions. He said governments need to raise this as a priority national policy issue. "Just 6-10 inches of top soil stand between us and extinction," he said. 'Productive land is a finite resource like our oceans and forests.' Looking ahead to the tenth Session of the Parties to the Convention which begins on 10 October in Changwon, the Republic of Korea, he urged Parties to continue rapid progress on strengthening the scientific basis of the Convention. He also called for major progress towards meeting the objectives of the UNCCD 10 year strategy (2008-2018) and a clear plan to rapidly integrate National Action Programmes into national policies for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. About the UNCCD Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment, development and the promotion of healthy soils. The UNCCD focuses on the drylands, which cover 41% of the Earth and are inhabited by over 2 billion people. Drylands account for 44% of the world's cultivated ecosystems and have provided 30% of all the world's cultivated plants. However, up to one fifth of the surface area is steadily degrading. The Convention's 194 signatory countries, or Parties, work to alleviate poverty in the drylands, maintain and restore the land's productivity, and mitigate the effects of drought.

Geneva, Switzerland, 6 September  2011 – A high-level consultative meeting held in Geneva over the weekend has issued the UNCCD Geneva Call for Urgent Action on The Implementation of The Convention to be transmitted to both the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the theme, “Addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication,” which will be held on September 20, and to the UNCCD tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to be held from 10-21 October 2011 in Changwon, Republic of Korea. The Call was issued by the past Presidents of the UNCCD Conferences of the Parties, along with the forthcoming COP10 host nation, Republic of Korea. The communiqué calls on the Parties to undertake actions to support the implementation of the Convention through building effective partnerships between national and international actors and deepening actions towards improving the conditions of the affected populations and ecosystems and generating global benefits. It also calls for synergies at the country-level among the three conventions on biodiversity, climate change and desertification, including through taking advantage of the UN Decade on Biodiversity and the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification. The Call also emphasizes the need to strengthen the UNCCD to become a global authority on scientific and technical knowledge on the issues of desertification, land degradation and drought and to align national actions with the 10-year strategy for 2008-2018 aimed at concretizing the implementation of the Convention. In his opening remarks, Mr. Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, noted the challenges facing UNCCD and said an “important achievement would be turning the UNCCD into a global authority on scientific and technical knowledge pertaining to desertification, land degradation and mitigation of the effects of drought.” He said the full engagement of investments in drylands is the UNCCD’s supreme challenge. Mr. Gnacadja said “by working together, the COP Presidents can turn out to be a recognized group and could play an instrumental role in the UNCCD process, thus delivering strategic advice for the consideration of the Parties and the international community.” For more information on the consultation contact: secretariat@unccd.int

Geneva, Switzerland/Bonn, Germany, 1 August 2011 – The latest famine in Somalia has put a spotlight on the urgent need to develop national and regional drought policies, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which are jointly leading the international action to address the growing impact of droughts. Drought is expected to continue in hard-hit southern Somalia during August and September, as well as parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya, according to the latest WMO Climate Outlook Forum for the region, which provides regional climate forecasts. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) already called for preparedness for an ongoing long period of drought over parts of the equatorial region in its climate update for the Greater Horn of Africa on 15 January 2011. Droughts have become more common over the past two decades. This is consistent with reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stating that the world has become more drought-prone over the last 25 years, and will see an increased frequency of droughts in the future. "Droughts do not happen overnight," said Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), responding to the declaration of famine by the United Nations earlier this month. "The UNCCD joins the calls on the international community to respond urgently to this crisis. At the same time, we stress the need for effective, long-term solutions to the root causes of famine in drought-prone regions, such as implementation of drought management systems and measures to stop desertification, which means land degradation in drylands." "We are moving forward quickly to provide integrated drought information to help decision-makers deal with drought, such as the one underway right now in East Africa," said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization. "Drought is a serious and growing problem in many countries. Adaptation to drought, desertification and climate change urgently needs to be mainstreamed in national development policies." Mr Gnacadja visited Mr Jarraud at WMO earlier this month to discuss cooperation between the two organizations, following the UN declaration of famine for two provinces in southern Somalia on 13 July 2011. The two organizations have a long-standing partnership. Most recently they have championed the use of the Standard Precipitation Index, as a universal meteorological drought index to improve monitoring and climate risk management among countries. "It's high time for UN joint action on droughts," said Mr Jarraud. "We need more coordinated action for monitoring and early warning systems that deliver timely information to decision-makers; improved impact assessment procedures; pro-active risk management measures and preparedness plans; and stronger emergency response programmes." WMO is working with its scientific network to offer the best policy advice available on drought management. A WMO international meeting on national drought policies, hosted by George Mason University (USA) on 14-15 July 2011, outlined steps for countries to learn from each other to reduce drought risks. WMO is compiling a "best-practices" compendium to help countries move rapidly to develop their own national drought policies appropriate to their local conditions. As part of this process, WMO and UNCCD will lead international discussions in November to build integrated drought information systems. To this end, the two organizations, along with Morocco's national meteorological service and the US National Integrated Drought Information System, are organizing an international symposium in Casablanca, Morocco from 9 to 11 November 2011. World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System's authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment, development and the promotion of healthy soils. The UNCCD focuses on the drylands, which cover 41% of the Earth and are inhabited by over 2 billion people, and works to alleviate poverty in the drylands, maintain and restore the land's productivity, and mitigate the effects of drought. For more information, please contact: At World Meteorological Organization: Carine Richard-Van Maele Chief, Communications and Public Affairs Tel: +41 22 7308315 email: cpa@wmo.int Clare Nullis Press Officer, Communications and Public Affairs Tel: +41 22 7308478; 41 79 7091397 (cell) email: cnullis@wmo.int web: www.wmo.int At UNCCD: Yukie Hori, Coordinator, Awareness Raising, Communication and Education Unit Tel. +49 228 8152829

Bonn, Germany, 16 July 2011 – The World Day to Combat Desertification will be observed on Friday, 17 June 2011. The global observance event opened on Friday, 10 June, in Dakar, Senegal, with the First Africa Drylands Week that will conclude with the observance of the Day. Over 100 participants, among them policy-makers, scientists, representatives of civil society organizations and community groups are in attendance. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the Senegal’s UN Representative, Mr Luc Gnacadja, UNCCD Executive Secretary and a community representative are scheduled to speak at the event that will be presided over by the Hon Djibo Leity Ka, Minister of State, Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection of Senegal. © FAO/Seyllou Diallo An observance event will take place in parallel in Madrid, Spain, at which Spanish football star and Champion of the World and of Europe, Mr Carlos Marchena, will be designated a Drylands Ambassador of the UNCCD. The event is organized by the non-governmental organization, IPADE, with the support of the UNCCD. In his message for the Day, Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, says the challenges facing the “forgotten billion” men, women and children in the drylands deserve special attention in the global efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Every year, the World Day to Combat Desertification is observed globally. This year, the event is also being marked in Argentina, Benin, France, Egypt, Iran, Lesotho and Mongolia, among many other countries. You too can join in the event by downloading and distributing this short film prepared specifically for mobile phone download. A comprehensive press kit to be released on Friday, 17 June at 12:30GMT, with the following contents: a press release, television footage, pictures from the field visits in Senegal, three successful drylands forestry projects and contacts for various international organizations for interviewees.  For more information on the event in Dakar, refer to the documents on the right-hand menu or contact: Ms. Yukie Hori Coordinator, ARCE Email: yhori@unccd.int Tel: +49 228 8152829 For general media related inquiries contact: Ms. Wagaki Mwangi Email: wmwangi@unccd.int Tel: +49 228 8152820 For interviews with the participants In Dakar, contact: Mr. Marten Roest maarten.roest@fao.org Cell: +39 346 5010574 In Madrid, contact: Ms. Andrea Perez aperez@unccd.int

Bonn, Germany, 17 June 2011 – “Yesterday, the ‘First Africa Drylands Week’ ended with a simple, yet new, message: the drylands are areas with great potential for the development and sustainable growth of its populations and nations. We must translate this into reality in economic terms with regard to the costs of inaction in relation to the costs and benefits of action in order to convince treasuries that the drylands should no longer be ‘deserts’ of investment,” Mr. Luc Gnacadja, the UN’s top advisor on land degradation, desertification and drought, said this morning. “I am certain that the discussions and field trips this week [in Senegal] have clarified much better than I could ever do in words, that the challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought while real, are solvable,” he added. Mr Gnacadja was speaking in Dakar, Senegal, at the global observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification, which also ended today. At a parallel event, taking place in Madrid, Spain, world football star Mr Carlos Marchena was designated a Drylands Ambassador of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The events in Dakar brought together over 100 participants, including scientists, policy-makers and representatives of the international and civil society organizations and community groups, to consider ways to ensure the long-term sustainable management of the forests in the drylands. The Government of Senegal hosted both events, which were organized with the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in cooperation with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF). In its joint press release dispatched from the events, the CPF said the First Africa Drylands Week “demonstrated renewed solidarity and unity throughout the Circum-Saharan region. Scientific and operational partnership, based on comprehensive consultation and inclusive approaches and methodologies between the development and cooperation partners, countries and civil society will reinforce governance systems, including sustainable land management, land tenure and secure livelihoods. Under this framework, individual countries, or groups of countries will be able to develop their own initiatives that will together contribute to successful land management, combat effects of climate change, prevent and combat desertification, conserve biodiversity and mitigate the vulnerability of rural and urban societies and ensure food security for the tens of millions of families, across the Sahara and the Sahel.” The CPF’s 27 partners are among the largest international organizations that focus on forest issues. About UNCCD Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda. It focuses on drylands, which cover 41% of the Earth and are in habited by over 2 billion people. Drylands account for 44% of the world’s cultivated ecosystems and have provided 30% of all the world’s cultivated plants. However, eight of the world’s 25 biodiversity ‘hotspots’ are in the drylands and up to one fifth of the drylands have been steadily degraded since the 1980s. The Convention’s 193 Parties are dedicated to improving the living conditions of the world’s poorest 1.2 billion resident in the drylands, to maintaining and restoring the land’s productivity, and to mitigating the effects of drought.

Bonn, Germany, 9 June 2011 – A special event expected to establish a Global Drylands Land Alliance (GDLA) is planned for the eve of the UN High level meeting to be held on 20 September 2011. The special event, to be co-hosted by the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP) and the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), was one of the outcomes of meetings held by the chief executives of the two institutions on 15-17 May 2011 in Doha, Qatar. During his meeting in Doha at the invitation of the QNFSP, Mr. Luc Gnacadja, UNCCD Executive Secretary, recalled that the Convention’s aim for the future is “to forge a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification/land degradation and provide a global framework to support the development and implementation of national and regional policies, programmes and measures through scientific and technology excellence. The vision and mission of the GDLA would be to achieve food security and sustainable development in the world’s drylands at national, regional and global levels. Building a global alliance of governments, research and development institutions, NGOs and the private sector to partner in the sustainable development of the drylands and food security worldwide is a step in that direction.” Mr. Fahad Al-Attiya, Chairman of the QNFSP, with Mr Gnacadja, UNCCD. Mr. Fahad Al-Attiya, Chairman of the QNFSP, said the Global Drylands Land Alliance is a partnership “to catalyze the UNCCD process and implementation” and demonstrate the shared vision and mission of the Alliance and the Convention’s Ten-Year Strategy. He concurred that the alliance can constitute a tool to achieve the UNCCD vision and mission. Mr. Gnacadja and Mr. Al-Attiya committed to work hand-in-hand to ensure that drylands issues receive the required attention from the world leaders. Mr. Gnacadja also met with Mr. Ahmad Bin Abdullah Bin Z. Al-Mahmoud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. Mr. Gnacadja commended the leadership of the Government of Qatar in championing the dryland issues, including those related to food security. Minister Al-Mahmoud expressed Qatar’s commitment to play its role in these respects, stressing that the world has become a global village. Mr Al-Mahmoud and Mr. Gnacadja underscored the historic nature of the upcoming High level meeting on desertification and discussed the future role that Qatar could play in UNCCD processes. Minister Al-Mahmoud said his Government was committed to playing a leadership role on these matters. Mr. Gnacadja visited other Qatari institutions, particularly those involved in environment and energy resources, including the Qatar Foundation, where he held exchanges on the Qatar Sustainable Water and Energy Utilization Initiative (QWE), the Qatar Energy and Environment Research Institute (QEERI) and the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). He urged them to advance the agenda of the GDLA by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by five upcoming milestones, namely, the UN General Assembly’s High level meeting (20 September 2011), the UNCCD tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (Changwon, South Korea, 11-20 October 2011), the Rio Plus 20 Summit (Rio de Janeiro, 4-6 June 2012), the Food Security Summit (Doha, November 2012) and the eleventh session of the UNCCD COP (September 2013). In September 2010, the Office of the Heir Apparent of Qatar hosted a similar side event on the margins of the General Assembly meeting on the Millennium Development Goals. For more information on the UNGA High level meeting contact: Melchiade Bukuru UNCCD New York Liaison Office Email: bukuru@un.org Tel: +1 917 367 4081 For all other media-related inquiries, contact: Wagaki Mwangi UNCCD Secretariat Email: wmwangi@unccd.int Tel: +49 228 815 2820

Bonn , Germany, 5 June 2011 – The arid zone forests are the quintessence of ‘Nature at Humanity’s Service’, the theme of this year’s World Environment Day. These forests are the “invisible” backbone of the humanity’s food security today. One in every three plants under cultivation originated here and now provides the globally-consumed crops like wheat, barley, sorghum, corn, cabbage, potatoes and olives. Half of the world’s livestock lives off the arid zone forests. And a significant proportion of the 2 billion people who live in the drylands directly depend on these forests for their day-to-day sustenance, energy and wood needs. The services rendered by the arid zone forests go beyond this food provisioning service. The arid zone forests play a critical ecosystem service. They are a key part of the climate regulating system and sustain valuable global biological diversity. They are inhabited by the world’s largest concentration of mammals, and over 50,000 plant and 1,500 bird species. And so, just as they have done for many generations in the past, the resources from the arid zone forests continue to sustain humanity. But for how long? Two policy failures, in particular, undermine the long-term sustainability of the arid zone forests. First, largely due to an underestimation of their value, the arid zone forests remain “invisible” to policy-makers. Consequently, the policy incentives required to sustainably conserve and use the arid zone forests are underdeveloped. Second, whereas the forest, land and water resources are naturally interdependent and function as a trilogy, the prevalent policy approach to their conservation is to focus on each resource singularly. The consequent policy imbalance in resource prioritization undermines the sustainability of all. For us to ensure that the future generations enjoy equal, if not better, utility of these resources, policy-makers and practitioners alike must think outside the box in the management of the drylands forests. This means, first, focusing on the causes, not symptoms, of their degradation. Second, it calls for a careful and coordinated calibration of the land, forest and water policies for the drylands. Third, it makes the payment for ecosystems in the drylands a requirement, not an option. Lastly, it underscores the need to mainstream soil improvement in all sustainable development frameworks. The 10-year Strategy of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (2008-2018) is designed with the kind of vision we are called to adopt today; where the nature in and from the drylands serves humanity now, and into perpetuity. One strategic objective is to improve the conditions of the drylands ecosystems affected by land degradation. Another is to improve the livelihoods of the populations in the drylands regions affected by land degradation or desertification, as the phenomenon is commonly referred to in respect of the drylands. As a measure of progress, the reports submitted during each second reporting cycle will quantify two aspects, starting in 2012. First, they will quantify the proportion of the population living above the poverty line, and second, the status of the land cover. The change in direction signals an increase or decrease of poverty or deforestation as the case may be. If the land cover is increasing, we can expect its forests and vegetation to continue servicing humanity. Similarly, if relatively more people are exiting poverty, then poverty as a cause of forest degradation is addressed, and the services provided by the drylands are more assured. In order for the real economic value of the services rendered by the drylands, including its arid zone forests to be correctly determined, the 2nd UNCCD Scientific Conference will be held in 2012, under the theme, ‘Economic assessment of desertification, sustainable land management and resilience of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas’. Arid zone forests are the prototype of nature at humanity’s service, but are an incredibly taken for granted resource. Let this year’s World Environment Day be the year of an unequivocal commitment to the protection of the arid zone forest, land and water resources. Together we can improve the livelihoods of the communities affected by poverty, and eliminate a major cause of the degradation of the forest, water and land resources. Doing so, would enhance food security and secure the resources in the drylands for posterity. I applaud the United Nations Environment Programme for its unceasing quest for environmental sustainability, and congratulate India and UNEP, on this auspicious occasion, for reminding us that nature is not to be taken for granted. We abuse it at our peril.

Governments and international organizations to address the challenges of desertification and biodiversity loss in the region Bonn, Germany/Rome, Italy, 3 June 2011 – Over 100 scientists, and representatives of government, international and civil society organizations from around the world will converge in Dakar, Senegal, from 10 to 17 June 2011, to develop an integrated approach to address the Region’s abiding challenges of desertification and biodiversity loss, and the new climate change threat. The First Africa Drylands Week will be held back-to-back with the global observance event on 17 June to mark this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification. The speakers at the events will include Luc Gnacadja, UNCCD Executive Secretary, representatives of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Professor Jeffery Sachs, Earth Institute of Columbia University, Dennis Garrity, ICRAF Director-General, and Godwin Kowero, Executive Secretary of the African Forest Forum and other dignitaries. Djibo Leity Ka, Senegal’s Minister of State, Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection, will preside over the World Day to Combat Desertification. Several heads of UN agencies and international organizations have already sent messages in observance of the events. They are Jacques Diouf, Director General, FAO, Monique Barbut, Chief Executive, Global Environment Facility, Kanayo Nwanze, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Ahmed Djoglaf, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, Christina Figueres, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christian Mersmann, Managing Director, Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, and Ambassador Kwon Byong Hyon, the SLM Champion of the UNCCD. “Land degradation often begins with deforestation, but leads to many other ills that we then try to address independent of each other. The spirit and mindset of the first African Drylands Week shows a paradigm shift that is emblematic of what the international community, as a whole, must do to surmount the grave environmental challenges facing us. Shedding our individual environmental blinders, will lead us to a holistic view of our environment, and a better identification of the sources, not symptoms, of such global environmental diseases,” says Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The First Africa Drylands Weeks and this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification are also part of 2011 International Year of Forests celebrating forests for people. The arid zone forests support the livelihoods of a large proportion of its two billion people inhabitants of the drylands. Overall deforestation has declined globally, but persists in Africa and South America, according to the FAO’s 2010 Global Forests Resource Assessment. The pressure on arid zone forests and the rangelands that protect them may increase, especially in the tropical and sub-tropical regions, from two opposing forces. There is a global campaign to conserve the moist tropical forests for carbon sequestration, on the one hand, and the need open up new land for agriculture to meet a growing global demand for biofuels, food and poverty eradication on the other. Increasingly, this pressure is being eased by reverting to the drylands. Field visits, high-level panel discussions and workshops will provide the platform for dialoguing and sharing knowledge around these issues, and the implementation of the biodiversity, climate change and desertification conventions. A way forward and a joint plan to enhancing collaboration among different organizations and partners will be defined and next steps to upscale good practices will be discussed. An information kit on the drylands will be launched during the Week in addition to other activities. The First Africa Drylands Week and World Day to Combat Desertification are organized by the Government of Senegal, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the National Great Green Wall Agency of Senegal, the Earth Institute of Columbia University, African Forest Forum, FAO, the UNCCD secretariat, the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, the World Agroforestry Organization (ICRAF), the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) and Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI), and co-funded by the European Commission. Notes to Editors: From 10 to 12 June, two media tours will be organized for members wishing to participate. Due to the timing of the two itineraries, media can choose to participate in one media tour only. The first itinerary will take the participants to the regions of Kébemer, Louga and Linguere to visit various projects, including the dune fixation project and its management for tourism which is being implemented by the forest service, in partnership with NGOs and private sector organizations and the Acacia Operation Project which implemented by FAO with partners in Senegal (Forest Service, women local groups, the private sector, local communities). The itinerary will also include visits to various Acacia project sites, following the gum market chain from the forest to end product. The visits will also take us to the project sites of  the Millenium Villages Projects as well as to some Great Green Wall  initiative sites where interventions were implemented by the Agence Nationale de la grande Muraille Verte in Senegal in collaboration with local actors. The second itinerary will be organized in the region of Kaolak where visits will include sites showcasing desertification issues and the best practices piloted in the region for combating desertification. One of the sites for example is the site of Keur Bam, showcasing how degraded land can be restored through sustainable forest management, keeping desertification pressure away in order to aid the process of natural regeneration. Another site is the forest of Koutal which was totally restored thanks to the commitment and hard work of a local women’s group. For information on the first Africa Drylands Week contact: Serigne Mbodji/Agence Nationale de la Grande Muraille Verte (Senegal) email: serigne.mbodji@gmail.com Nora Berrahmouni/FAO email: nora.berrahmouni@fao.org Hervé Bisseleua/Earth Institute email: hbissel@gmail.com For information on the World Day to Combat Desertification, contact: Yukie Hori/UNCCD Secretariat email: yhori@unccd.int tel: +49 228 815 2829 Boubacar Cisse/UNCCD Secretariat tel: +216-7110 2311 ​​​​​​​email: b.cisse@afdb.org For information media-related inquiries, contact: Wagaki Mwangi, UNCCD Secretariat email: wmwangi@unccd.int tel: +49 (0)228 815 2820 cell: +49-173-268 7593. For information on media tour, contact: Serigne Mbodji/Agence Nationale de la Grande Muraille Verte (Senegal). email: serigne.mbodji@gmail.com