UNCCD Executive Secretary: the scientific community expects us to deliver

Changwon City, Republic of Korea, 11 October 2011 – At the opening of the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) taking place in Changwon City, Republic of Korea, Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, said a key question for the COP is how to strengthen the scientific basis of the Convention:

"There is a high expectation, especially from the scientific community that the UNCCD could indeed become a global authority on scientific and technical knowledge pertaining to desertification, land degradation and drought."

Whilst the mandate of the Convention is the world's drylands, he noted that "recent scientific findings regarding land degradation occurring beyond drylands' ecosystems have helped to further sensitize policy makers, actors from the civil society and the business community."

"I would like to underline that this COP takes place at a very critical moment in the life of the Convention. Important international events are taking place, which are helping to reveal to policy makers and the public at large the potential of the UNCCD and its important role in achieving major development goals."

Long a blind spot for the international community, "We now see increasing attention being given to desertification and land degradation-related issues."

The incoming COP President, Minister of the Korean Forest Service, Lee Don-koo, said an important step towards this goal would be the unveiling of the "Changwon Initiative" by the Government of the Republic of Korea during the second week.

"I do believe that this Initiative will serve as a meaningful context to encourage support to the UNCCD scientific process through target-setting, to enhance mobilization of additional resources through consolidation of effective partnership, and to launch "Land for Life" Award aimed at raising global awareness of the vital importance of sustainable land management."

The COP runs from 10 October to 21 October 2011, with the first week dedicated to Parties working to strengthen the scientific basis of the Convention, to achieving major progress on delivering the 2nd phase of the UNCCD 10 year Strategy and rapidly bringing National Action Programmes in line with the Strategy.

In the second week, a high-level segment for Ministers and other senior representatives will take place on 17-18 October through a series of round table meetings on critical policy questions.

If you need more information please contact our media and press officer whose details are below:

Ms Wagaki Mwangi
Public Information and Media Officer
UNCCD Secretariat
Hermann-Ehlers Str.10
53113 Bonn, Germany
Email: wmwangi [at] unccd.int (wmwangi[at]unccd[dot]int)

About the UNCCD

Developed as a result of the Rio Summit, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is a unique instrument that has brought attention to land degradation to some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and people in the world. Fifteen years after coming into force, the UNCCD benefits from the largest membership of the three Rio Conventions and is increasingly recognized as an instrument which can make an important contribution to the achievement of sustainable development and poverty reduction.