Anyone who shares the goal of combating desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) will tell you that 20 September 2011 was a historic date. For the first time in two decades, more than 100 heads of state, government and delegations met in New York to discuss the urgent need to strengthen efforts at all levels to combat DLDD.
The last meeting on land degradation to take place at such a high level was the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, where the decision was taken to negotiate a United Nations convention to combat desertification “in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.” As the German State Secretary for Economic Cooperation and Development, Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz, stated in New York, the assumption at the time that land degradation was merely a local problem in some drylands was wrong.
Held on the eve of the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the meeting was a milestone in the international community’s pursuit of sustainable development. It shone a spotlight on the growing threat of land degradation, which is taking place at an unprecedented rate outside the drylands. Today, it directly affects over 1.5 billion people globally, the majority of whom are poor.
The pressure to act is immense, as one after another, heads of state, government or delegation, identified the multiple effects of DLDD in all corners of the world, ranging from food insecurity, conflict and political instability to poverty. Highlighting the famine in the Horn of Africa, a harsh consequence of the failure to act upon forecasts of impending severe drought, delegates stressed that the international community needs to work to further minimise the impacts of such natural disasters. After all, concerted international action can address the root causes of hunger and famine.
The discussion at the high-level meeting was unequivocal that addressing DLDD is a driving force for sustainable development and poverty eradication locally, nationally and globally. Many delegations therefore called for the pursuit of a land degradation neutral world, stating that a sustainable development goal is a large part of the answer. This demonstration of political will is truly inspiring, as it plants the seeds that may yield the paradigm shift needed to usher in an era of sustainable land management.
A few of the inspiring success stories which can already been seen were highlighted by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, at the New York meeting (see report on the high-level meeting). The task now is to agree how to pursue this further and translate ideals into action.
Setting a quantitative target such as the proposed zero-net land degradation is the next step. Translating this ideal into international, regional and national policies and programmes would create the momentum required to turn it into a reality. The UNCCD’s 10-year strategic plan, with its clear, measurable objectives stretching to 2018, provides a solid framework for further action.
Undoubtedly, challenges exist, especially the issue of the science of DLDD. High-quality scientific advice is the basis for sound decision-making, but it is underutilised in matters of land degradation. Not only has the science on land degradation shifted, but the practice has changed, too. Calls to strengthen the UNCCD’s scientific base were therefore abundant.
For far too long, land degradation has remained a blind spot in sustainable development. The vision of and road to Rio+20 provides ample scope, time and opportunity to move the issue into the centre stage of policy. The time is ripe to commit to building a land degradation neutral world and to set measurable sustainable development targets aiming for zero-net land degradation. Let us therefore put the political momentum created by our leaders in New York on 20 September to good effect and reach great heights in Rio.
The message from the recently concluded tenth session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties in Changwon, Republic of Korea, has strengthened this resolve. A land degradation neutral world is possible. Let us make it the environmental legacy of the first half of the twenty-first century.
Executive Secretary
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