Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Don Severino de las Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite

COLLEGE OF ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION IN THOSE COUNTRIES

EXPERIENCING SERIOUS DROUGHT AND/OR DESERTIFICATION, PARTICULARLY IN
AFRICA, 1994 (UNCCD)

Submitted to
Mr. BYL FLORENTINO
Faculty of the Department of
Development Studies

Written Report of Group 6 for

ISEA 28
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Submitted by
PLANDEZ, MARY JANE
RUPINDER, SINGH
SAVARIS, JANELLE C.
TEC, JAMES DIWLE G.
VALDEZ, SOFIA NICOLE C.

JUNE 1, 2022
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page ……………………………………………………………………………………………….1

Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………………2
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………..3
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification …………………………………………….4
Bodies of UNCCD …………………………………………………………………………….4
The parties and the Convention …………………………………………………………….6
Implementations, Initiatives and Progress …………………………………………………8
Impacts and Significance to Affected Countries ……………………………………… …12
Africa ……………………………………………………………………………….. .12
Asia ……………………………………………………………………………… …..14
Latin America and the Caribbean………………………………………………….15
Northern Mediterranean ………………………………………………… ………...16
Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……….17
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………… ………19
Recommendation ……………………………………………………………… ……………… ……22
References …………………………………………………………………………………… …….. 23

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INTRODUCTION
As defined by UNCOD (1977), "Desertification is the reduction or destruction of land's
biological capacity, which can eventually lead to desert-like conditions. It is a result of extensive
ecosystem degradation that has reduced or eliminated biological capacity, i.e. plant and animal
production, for various use reasons at a time when higher productivity is required to feed
growing people in pursuit of development”. It is extensive but discrete in the space process of
land degradation throughout the drylands, which is distinct from the documented cyclic
oscillations of vegetation production at desert fringes ("desert expansion or contraction") shown
by satellite data and related to climate fluctuations. Desertification currently affects over 3.6
billion hectares - 70% of the total drylands, or roughly one-quarter of the world's total land area,
and approximately one-sixth of the world's population. These figures exclude naturally occurring
hyper-arid deserts.
Drought, on the other hand, is defined as below-average precipitation that impacts soil
moisture as well as the amount of water in streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater (National
Geographic, n.d.). Drought was one of the dangers that caused the most human deaths
between 1970 and 2019, accounting for nearly 650,000 deaths. More than 90% of all
climate-related deaths occurred in underdeveloped nations throughout the timeframe (WMO,
2021). Aside from this, according to WMO (2021), drought is costly. There are substantial
economic losses due to drought that have increased multifold in the past decades. The
international community has long recognized that land degradation or desertification is a major
economic, social, and environmental issue in many parts of the world.
Recognizing the major concerns of drought and desertification, as well as climate
change and biodiversity loss, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit proposed for the creation of the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This is the only Convention that is a
direct recommendation of the Rio Conference's Agenda 21. It is the only international legally
enforceable structure established to manage desertification. It is based on the principles of
participation, partnership, and decentralization—the backbone of Good Governance and
Sustainable Development. It has 196 parties, making it near-universal in reach.
The Convention focuses on the arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas known as the
drylands, which contain some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples. The parties are
collaborating to improve dryland living conditions, preserve and restore land and soil
productivity, and alleviate the effects of drought. The UNCCD is especially committed to a
bottom-up strategy, encouraging local people to participate in combating desertification and land
degradation. As the dynamics of land, climate, and biodiversity are intimately connected, the

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UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions to meet these complex
challenges with an integrated approach focusing on concentrating on the natural connections
that exist within these processes.

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), established
in 1994, is the only legally enforceable international accord tying environment and development
to sustainable land management. It is the impetus behind SDG 15 and Land Degradation
Neutrality (LDN).
The history of UNCCD may be traced back to the inaugural United Nations Conference
on Desertification (UNCOD) in 1977 when a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification was
adopted (PACD). Despite the fact that many countries recognize land degradation and
desertification as serious economic, social, and environmental concerns, the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) stated in 1991 that the problem of land degradation in arid,
semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas had escalated. Combating desertification was a major focus
of the pivotal 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in
Rio de Janeiro, better known as the Earth Summit. The Rio Conference requested that the
United Nations General Assembly form an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INCD) to
draft a Convention to Combat Desertification.
The General Assembly approved and adopted Resolution 47/188 on this topic in
December 1992, and the UNCCD was constituted in 1994. The Convention now has 197
signatories, including the European Union. The Convention's top governing body, the
Conference of the Parties (COP), convened its inaugural session in October 1997 in Rome,
Italy. The UN Convention on Climate Change is the global voice for land, supporting land
stewardship to avoid, minimize, and reverse land degradation and assure the continued
availability of land-based resources critical to human survival. Much has been accomplished,
but much more has to be done.
1. THE BODIES OF THE UNCCD
The UNCCD functions with a four-tier of institutional structure, as specified in
Article 22 – 25 of the Convention. The standard permanent institutional arrangements for
the UNCCD intergovernmental process are briefly presented below.
1.1 The Conference of the Parties (COP)
The COP is the supreme decision-making body, which takes the necessary
decisions to promote effective implementation of the Convention. It is responsible for

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regularly reviewing the implementation of the Convention and the functioning of its
institutional arrangements. One of the main functions of the COP is to review the
progress reports submitted by the Parties and make recommendations for further
actions. It also has the power to make amendments to the Convention or to adopt new
annexes, such as additional regional implementation annexes. In this way, the COP can
guide the Convention as global circumstances and national needs change. To assist the
COP, the Convention has subsidiary bodies and allows the COP to establish additional
ones if necessary.
The Bureau of the COP is confirmed by a President and nine Vice-presidents
(one of them acts as Rapporteur), elected from among the representatives of the Parties
present at the COP session, and the Chairs of the Committee of the Whole (CoW) for
that session, the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for
the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC).
1.2. The Subsidiary Bodies (CRIC, CST)
Two subsidiary bodies of the COP are established to support COP. They are the
Committee on Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for the Review of the
Implementation of the Convention (CRIC). The CST provides the COP with information
and advice on scientific and technological matters relating to combating desertification
and mitigating the effects of drought. The CST meets in conjunction with the ordinary
sessions of the COP. It is meant to be multidisciplinary, open to the participation of all
Parties, and composed of government representatives competent in the relevant fields of
expertise. On the other hand, the CRIC assists the COP in the review of the
implementation of the Convention under the authority and guidance of the COP.
There is usually an ad hoc subsidiary body of the COP - the Committee of the
Whole (CoW), which is established at sessions of the COP and only functions until the
end of the said session. It usually has the task of recommending decisions on difficult or
complex matters, referred to it by the COP. These draft decisions are then sent to the
Plenary of the COP for consideration for adoption.
Each of the subsidiary bodies (CST & CRIC) established by the COP elects a
Bureau confirmed by one Chairperson and four Vice-chairpersons. In each case, one of
the Vice-chairpersons acts as Rapporteur. The CoW is confirmed by a Chairperson and
a Secretary. Its Chairperson acts as an ex-officio member of the COP Bureau only for
the session at which that CoW was established.

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 The Secretariat: The secretariat, located in Germany since January 1999, services the
COP, its subsidiary bodies, and their Bureaus, as established under the Convention. This
includes a multitude of tasks, ranging from the preparation of substantive documentation to
logistical arrangements for the sessions.

The Global Mechanism: Serves the UNCCD process by promoting actions leading to
the mobilization and channeling of substantial financial resources, including for the transfer of
technology, on a grant basis, and/or on concessional or other terms, to affected developing
country Parties. Apart from the permanent institutional structures, some temporary ad hoc
groups work during sessions of the COP such as Friends of the Chair, Contact Groups, Ad hoc
working groups, and Drafting groups.

2. THE PARTIES AND THE CONVENTION

2.1. Parties to the Convention; Ratification
The UNCCD involves 196 parties and addresses environment and development
to sustainable land management. Achieving this will involve long-term integrated
strategies committed to a bottom-up approach. This has to be consistent with Agenda
21, encouraging the participation of local people by improving land productivity and the
rehabilitation, conservation, and sustainable management of land and water resources.
During the time it was open for signature, from October 1994 to October 1995, it
received 115 signatures. Signatories need to ratify the Convention to bring it into force
for them. The Nonsignatory States have the option of acceding to the Convention at any
time.
2.2. The Convention
The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid
areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and
peoples can be found. Its 195 parties work together to improve the living conditions for
people in drylands, maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and mitigate the
effects of drought. Some of the articles of the Convention are given below;
General Provisions:
Article 4 – General Obligations Countries that have ratified the UNCCD shall
adopt an integrated approach to address the physical, biological and socio-economic
aspects of the processes of desertification and drought. A major component of
developing such a strategy is to give due attention to the situation of countries facing

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desertification with regard to international trade, marketing arrangements and debt. The
Convention also establishes an enabling international economic environment conducive
to the promotion of sustainable development. Affected developing country Parties are
eligible for assistance in the implementation of the Convention.
Article 5 - Obligations of affected country Parties Countries affected by
desertification shall: a) Allocate adequate resources to combat desertification and
mitigate the effects of droughts; b) Establish strategies to combat desertification and
mitigate the effects of drought; c) Address the underlying causes of desertification, with
particular attention to the socioeconomic factors contributing to desertification processes;
and d) Promote awareness of and facilitate the participation of local populations to
combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. e) Strengthen legislation or
establish new laws to combat desertification.
Article 6 - Obligations of developed country Parties Developed countries that
have ratified the UNCCD shall: a) Actively support the efforts of affected developing
country Parties, particularly African countries and the least developed countries, to
combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought; b) Provide substantial financial
resources and other forms of support to assist affected developing country Parties to
develop and implement their own long-term plans to combat desertification; c)
Encourage the mobilization of funding from the private sector and other
non-governmental sources; and d) Promote and facilitate access by affected country
Parties to appropriate technology, knowledge and know-how.
Procedures:
Article 26 - Communication of information
Each Party shall communicate to the Conference of the Parties for consideration
at its ordinary sessions, through the Permanent Secretariat, reports on the measures
which it has taken for the implementation of the Convention. Developed and developing
countries need to provide detailed reports when they have developed a strategy or
implemented an action program related to desertification. Affected developing countries,
particularly those in Africa, must be provided technical and financial support in compiling
and communicating information.
Article 27 - Measures to resolve questions on implementation
The Conference of the Parties shall consider and adopt procedures and
institutional mechanisms for the resolution of questions that may arise with regard to the
implementation of the Convention.

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 Article 28 - Settlement of disputes
The Parties to the Convention on the Application and Interpretation of
International Human Rights have twelve months to resolve disputes concerning the
interpretation or application of the Convention. To resolve their differences, parties can
choose to either use arbitration in accordance with procedures adopted by the
Conference of the Parties in an annex as soon as practical or submit the dispute to the
International Court of Justice.
Article 29 - Status of annexes
Annexes form an integral part of the Convention and, unless expressly provided
otherwise, a reference to the Convention also constitutes a reference to its annexes. The
Parties shall interpret the provisions of the annexes in a manner that is in conformity with
their rights and obligations under the articles of this Convention.
Article 30 - Amendments to the Convention
Any party may propose amendments to the Convention. Amendments need to be
suggested 6 months before the meeting at which it is proposed for adoption. The Parties
shall make every effort to reach agreement on any convention by consensus. If
consensus fails, then an amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote. Amendments
shall be implemented 19 days after the vote.
Article 31 - Adoption and amendment of annexes
Any additional annex to the Convention shall follow the same voting procedures
as set out in Article 30. An annex will enter into force six months after the vote, with
certain exceptions if the Party objects to the annex or makes a declaration about the
annex.
Article 32 - Right to vote Each Party to the Convention shall have one vote.
Regional economic integration organizations, in matters within their competence,
shall exercise their right to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of their
member States that are Parties to the Convention. Such an organization shall not
exercise its right to vote if any of its member States exercises its right and vice versa.

3. IMPLEMENTATIONS, INITIATIVES, AND PROGRESS

• Assessment of desertification and improvement of land management
Desertification assessment is critical for each afflicted country. This necessitates national
machinery, particularly to assess how desertification impacts people, as well as a land-use
planning and management program based on ecologically sound methodologies. Many

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developing countries plagued by poverty could not accord the priorities required to act upon
these recommendations appropriately. Many countries were unable to install suitable
assessment machinery due to a lack of human and technical resources. Some countries have
gone far further than others simply because they have a lengthy history of land use planning for
other objectives such as irrigation or commercial farming. Although there have been some
successes in raising public knowledge and engagement since UNCOD, much more work
remains to be done.
• Combination of industrialization and urbanization with the development of
agriculture and their effects on the ecology in arid areas
If correctly designed and implemented, industrialization and urbanization can alleviate
ecological constraints on drylands, thereby mitigating desertification in such lands. Over the last
14 years, a series of workshops and training courses in the USSR and China have allowed
people from developing nations to examine the difficulties related with urbanization and
industrialisation, as well as their impact on desertification. In this regard, UNEP produced a
number of publications. Despite being sufficiently industrialized and urbanized, countries such
as those in Latin America are succeeding in providing assistance to the impoverished rural
environment. The expansion of the oil sector in the Middle East has aided in the relief of rural
areas. Much more needs to be done by UNEP in cooperation with the UN Commission for
Human Settlement (UNCHS/Habitat) and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
to fulfill this plan.
• Corrective anti-desertification measures
Corrective anti-desertification actions implemented at the national level are critical in
deciding success or failure. Over the previous 14 years, a considerable lot of international
assistance has been provided in the shape of various programs, mainly in Africa, but it has been
absolutely insufficient to address the size of the problem. The majority of the initiatives are
studies, planning and programming missions, seminars and workshops, with very few
field-based operations. The notion is that once sensitized, governments will discover and plan
anti-desertification field projects on their own. Recent field initiatives that have been particularly
noteworthy include sand dune stabilization (China, Iran, Mauritania), water enhancement
(Burkina Faso), rangeland restoration, reforestation, and integrated rural development (Niger).
Action to remediate degraded irrigated fields is difficult and expensive; corrective measures are
easier to implement in newly developed irrigation projects. Failure will always occur at the
national level where a management tradition has not previously existed, and future efforts
should be geared at supporting the countries involved in acquiring such knowledge. Droughts,

9
particularly in Africa, as well as rapid population growth and unanticipated demographic
changes, including the refugee crisis, were significant impediments to significant progress. The
findings obtained thus far appear to indicate that a broad-based rural development plan is the
genuine answer.
• Monitoring physical conditions of the land and human population characteristics
(demographics, health, land use, settlements, etc)
Certain recommendations have lately been implemented in various parts of the world by
establishing various monitoring or early warning systems at the international, regional, and
national levels. Global level initiatives include UNEP's Global Environment Monitoring System
(GEMS) and Global Resource Information Database (GRID), several FAO monitoring systems
(including the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture published
as Food Outlook and the Desert Locust Bulletin), and World Health Organization and World
Meteorological Organization monitoring systems. At the regional level, the FAO provides regular
information on weather, food, and agricultural conditions throughout Africa, particularly the
Sahel.
There are also examples of national-level projects, such as Turkana District's Early
Warning System Bulletin in Kenya and Senegal's Ministry of Nature Protection's establishment
of the National Ecological Monitoring Centre. Another significant development is France's plan
to construct a permanent monitoring system for North Africa across a vast territory that includes
places both north and south of the Sahara. These operations are insufficiently coordinated,
particularly from a methodological standpoint, and do not consistently provide a full picture of
the condition of circumstances. However, this is a good start, and efforts in this direction should
be expanded.
• Socio-economic aspects of combating desertification
Numerous reports have revealed that, over the previous 14 years, the social, political,
and economic components of desertification have been addressed both nationally and globally,
but not sufficiently to have a substantial impact on the situation. There is still a lot of work to be
done if land degradation is to be stopped.
• Insurance against the risk and effects of drought
Drought and desertification are so closely intertwined that even scientists sometimes
mistake one for the other. Extensive drought insurance programs have been implemented in
industrialized countries with vast desert, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid land areas affected by
recurring drought to protect rural residents from these natural calamities. Since UNCOD,
drought early warning systems and grain stockpiles (mostly imported) have been built, mainly in

10
Africa, to help affected populations get through the drought. Many of the threatened developing
countries have made steps to implement more elaborate crop insurance plans, but the
economic foundation on which these are constructed is poor.
Drought risk insurance in drylands should be more applicable to livestock and
rangelands because pastoral peoples rely on their cattle more than their crops. Fourteen years
after UNCOD, there has been little progress in livestock and rangeland insurance against
drought risk. Foreign aid is still the principal insurance against starvation in many of the affected
nations, particularly in Africa, during the dry years.
• Strengthening science and technology at the national level
The PACD clearly identifies a lack of scientific and technological capacity in many
developing nations as a major impediment to successful national desertification initiatives. This
issue appears to have received sufficient attention. The majority of anti-desertification initiatives
appear to have focused on training, education, information, and institution-building. Agricultural
research, which is critical to dryland rural development, has also gotten a lot of attention.
Advice, technical and financial assistance and training have all been provided to developing
countries. Some progress has been made in the field of energy-related science and technology,
particularly in the development of fuel-efficient stoves and solar heating to alleviate pressure on
fuelwood stocks, as well as the quest for alternative energy sources.
• Establishment of national machineries to combat desertification
Only a few countries have set up particular machinery to implement the PACD at the
governmental level. The burden was primarily delegated to existing ministries or agencies
involved with the environment, forestry, or agriculture. Many countries appointed focal points to
provide communication and coordination with both regional or international and national entities
involved in the PACD's implementation. Nowhere in the world has hierarchical national
machinery that includes provincial and local agencies been formed. Indeed, local governments
are frequently unaware of any national desertification plan or program. However, Kenya, where
the Ministry of Reclamation and Development of Arid, Semi-Arid, and Wasteland Areas was
founded in 1989, is a hopeful example of future improvement. The Ministry will be in charge of
integrated environmental development, protection, and restoration in 88% of Kenyan territory,
which includes 25% of the country's population and 50% of the national livestock. At the district
level, the ministry intends to establish arid and semi-arid lands management, training,
demonstration, and adaptive research centers, which will be supplemented by multidisciplinary
mobile extension teams, which are envisioned as a key tool in stimulating dialogue between

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land users and decision-makers. When Kenya's Environmental Action Plan for Arid and
Semi-Arid Lands was formed in 1991, this method was put into action.
• Integration of anti-desertification programs into development plans
Land degradation (desertification) is multisectoral in its extent so all action against
desertification should be included in appropriate sections of general development programmes
or strategies. The most recent assessment of desertification, as well as discussions at
consecutive meetings of the UNEP Governing Council and the Consultative Committee on
Desertification Control (DESCON), provide direction in this area. Since then, several countries,
including Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Syria, and Tunisia, have built NPACDs and successfully
integrated them into donor round-table discussions for funding. Unfortunately, there was no
support for evaluating these suggestions in their totality.
• International action
Over the last 14 years, there has been greater success in adopting international actions
at a faster and larger scale than at the regional and national levels. Although the PACD
recognizes that governments and their respective institutions bear primary responsibility for
action, it also underlines the importance of coordinating national, regional, and international
programs in the overall struggle against desertification. UNEP and the Desertification Control
Programme Activity Centre (DC/PAC) were given this responsibility. In this regard, it was agreed
that UNEP will collaborate closely with other UN bodies, such as the IAWGD, ACC, and
DESCON. This coordinating role was mostly handled by UNSO in Africa's Sudano-Sahelian
region through the UNDP/UNEP Joint Venture. The UNSO's role was to develop desertification
assessment and control methodologies, organize and promote scientific and technological
research and training, encourage information interchange, and offer financial and technical
support for the PACD recommendations' implementation.

4. SIGNIFICANCE, CONDITIONS & CHALLENGES

AFRICA
Two-thirds of the African continent is desert or drylands. This land is vital for agriculture
and food production, however nearly three-fourths of it is estimated to be degraded. The region
is affected by frequent droughts, which have been particularly severe in recent years in the Horn
of Africa and the Sahel.
Poverty and difficult socio-economic conditions are widespread, and as a result, many
people are dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods. For many African countries,
fighting land degradation and desertification and mitigating the effects of drought are

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prerequisites for economic growth and social progress. Increasing sustainable land
management (SLM) and building resilience to drought in Africa can have profound positive
impacts that reach from the local to the global level. All African countries are Parties to the
UNCCD. Most African countries have developed and submitted National Action Programmes
(NAPs). The preparation of NAPs is a dynamic, continuous process and the status of each
country is subject to change over time. To facilitate cooperation on issues related to land
degradation, African countries have created five Sub-Regional Action Programmes (SRAPs)
and a Regional Action Programme (RAP). The current African RAP outlines were adopted at a
ministerial level in 1999 and compose six thematic program networks (TPNs) that concern:
Integrated water management, Agroforestry, Soil conservation, Rangeland management,
Ecological monitoring, and early warning systems, New and renewable energy sources and
technologies, and Sustainable agricultural farming systems.
Since the adoption of the UNCCD’s Ten-Year Strategy, the sub-regional entities have
begun aligning their action programs to it, particularly the North, Central, and Western African
programs. The other two sub-regions have benefited from training by the UNCCD on how to
align their programs to the Strategy. It is expected that the alignment of the SRAPs to the
Strategy will improve their effectiveness in achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) in the
region. After the Strategy was adopted, regional cooperation has received increasing attention
within UNCCD decision-making. An important demonstration of this is decision 3/COP 9, which
calls for strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of regional coordination mechanisms,
with the view to facilitate cooperation among affected parties within the regions, enhance
synergies among relevant institutions and organizations, and respond to existing and emerging
challenges, capacities, and specific issues.
Achievements since decision 3/COP 9: (1) A regional consultative committee was
established in November 2012 in Algiers to guide and support regional coordination; (2) A
regional work program was drafted as a practical framework for joint activities and coordination
within the region; (3) A regional coordination unit (RCU) for Africa, hosted by the African
Development Bank in Tunis, has been strengthened.

ASIA
Desertification manifests itself in many different forms across the vast region of Asia and
the Pacific. Out of a total land area of 4.3 billion hectares reaching from the Mediterranean coast
to the shores of the Pacific, Asia contains some 1.7 billion hectares of arid, semi-arid, and dry
sub-humid land. Land degradation varies across the region. There are expanding deserts in

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China, India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan, encroaching sand dunes in Syria, steeply eroded
mountain slopes of Nepal, deforested in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and overgrazed
in central Asia countries. In terms of the number of people affected by desertification and
drought, Asia is the most severely affected continent.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Regional
Implementation Annex for Asia recognizes these unique conditions and calls for activities at the
national, sub-regional, and regional levels in the form of coordinated and integrated action
programs. National Action Programmes (NAPs) have been prepared in many Asian and Pacific
countries. The development and alignment of NAPs is a dynamic, continuous process, and the
status of each country is subject to change over time. The Convention’s bottom-up approach,
which was also generally adopted during the NAPs’ creation, calls for existing desertification
programs to be reviewed by stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
local civil society organizations (CSOs), authorities, and community leaders.
Mainstreaming the NAPs into other sustainable development policy frameworks or
national strategic plans is important to ensure their effective implementation of UNCCD and
achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 concerning DLDD mitigation. Currently,
many NAPs are being aligned to the future strategy framework, Rio Outcomes and Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). The implementation of the NAPs is supported by regional
cooperation, including the promotion of collaboration and capacity-building at national and
sub-regional levels. The Asian regional priorities are captured in the Regional Action
Programmes (RAPs), which were adopted at the ministerial level in 1997 and revised and
endorsed in 2003. The regional priorities are formulated into six regional Thematic Programme
Networks (TPNs) that seek to link institutions and agencies together via an institutional focal
point in order to promote cooperation and information sharing.
The Thematic Programme Networks (TPNs) focus on the following themes:
desertification monitoring and assessment; agroforestry and soil conservation; rangeland
management and fixation of shifting sand dunes; water resources management for arid-land
agriculture; strengthening capacities for drought impact mitigation and combating desertification;
and assistance for the implementation of integrated local area development programs (LADPs).
The Asia-Pacific region has five sub-regions. All countries located in these sub-regions have
formulated their sub-regional action programs (SRAPs), except for one sub-region of the Pacific.

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LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC)
While well known for rainforests, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are actually
about one-fourth desert and drylands (20,533,000 km2). The deserts of the Pacific coast stretch
from southern Ecuador across the entire Peruvian shoreline to northern Chile. Further inland, at
altitudes of 3,000-4,500 meters, the high plains, or Altiplano, of the Andean mountains cover
large areas of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. To the east of the Andes, an arid region
extends from Chaco‘s northern reaches in Paraguay to Patagonia in southern Argentina. In
northeastern Brazil, the landscape is dominated by semi-arid zones and tropical savannahs.
Desertification and degradation of natural resources seriously affect nearly all countries
of the LAC region. The region’s rural areas are home to 125 million people, including 60 percent
of the poorest people in the region. These regions are particularly affected by land degradation,
which is a factor in the vicious circle of land overexploitation, degradation, increased demands
on production, greater poverty, food insecurity, and migration. The LAC region faces many
challenges caused by land degradation. Severe droughts and land degradation have made the
countries in Central America extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, delaying their
sustainable development. Large parts of Colombia and Venezuela are highly degraded. In the
arid zones of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica, erosion and water shortages
are noticeably intensifying. Most of Mexico is arid and semi-arid, mainly in the north. Poverty
and pressure on natural resources are critical factors driving land degradation in much of Latin
America and the Caribbean. In a region with 465 million inhabitants, around 110 million live
below the poverty line. Land degradation threatens the subsistence of a large part of the
population living in rural areas – making it more difficult for people to earn a living wage. These
conditions often force inhabitants in degraded areas to migrate.
The Regional Annex for Latin America and the Caribbean strongly emphasizes the need
for sustainable development. The Convention has strong political support in the region. Every
country is a party to the Convention, and the issues of land degradation, desertification, and
drought are constantly integrated into the national agendas for sustainable development and
poverty reduction. National Action Programmes (NAPs) have been formulated by most
countries, taking a bottom-up approach with involvement from all relevant stakeholders,
including civil society organizations. LAC countries have defined national voluntary land
degradation neutrality (LDN) targets and the elements needed to implement this methodology at
a national level, as part of the process to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
in particular the SDG goal 15. Currently, there are 22 LAC countries participating in the LDN
Target Setting Programme (LDN TSP). Three of these - Costa Rica, Chile, and Grenada – have

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been selected as pilot countries. A regional coordination unit (RCU) is hosted by the Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago de Chile.

NORTHERN MEDITERRANEAN
The lands around the Mediterranean Sea (the Mediterranean Basin) form the largest of
the five world regions subjected to a Mediterranean climate – long, warm to hot, dry summers
and mild to cool, wet winters. These climatic conditions make the Mediterranean vegetation
(woodlands, scrubs and grasslands) well adapted to survive dry conditions and to recover from
droughts, floods and fires. Yet, land degradation and desertification do occur in croplands,
rangelands and woodlands in the Mediterranean Basin.
The Regional Implementation Annex IV offers opportunities for an effective national
action in the Northern Mediterranean Region. The Annex involves 12 affected country members
and three observers. Seven of the affected countries are members of the European Union, all
but two (Portugal and Hungary) are within the Mediterranean Basin, and all but one (Albania)
have drylands. In four affected countries, drylands cover most of the territory.
Currently, four countries to the Annex IV (Albania, Portugal, Spain and Turkey) have aligned
their national action programmes (NAPs) with the 10-year Strategy.
In 2011 the members of Annex IV identified priorities for five subprograms of the regional
work programme for 2012-2013. These include: Aligning existing NAPs with the 10-year
Strategy, Generating a roadmap for further developing Annex IV regional action programme
(RAP), Exploring options for regional projects, Regional testing of the impact indicators adopted
by the Conference of the Parties (COP), Exploring the possibilities for cooperation with other
countries of the Mediterranean Basin and with the Central and Eastern European countries, and
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Soil degradation and desertification is severe in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
While the degree of land degradation in the CEE region varies from country to country, evidence
shows that the problem is getting worse. The CEE region experiences various forms of land
degradation caused by: development of transitioning economies; soil depletion caused by
agricultural processes; deforestation, due to pollution stress and frequent forest fires; and
inappropriate irrigation and excessive exploitation of water resources, contribute to chemical
pollution, salinization, and Exhaustion of aquifers.
The UNCCD’s regional Annex V entered into force in 2001 by the Decision of
Conference of the Parties (COP) 5, titled “The Regional implementation Annex of the
Convention for the region of Eastern and Central Europe”. Currently, 19 countries of the CEE

16
are the Parties to the UNCCD. Fifteen of these Parties have declared their status of being
affected country Parties.
At COP12 in 2015, the countries of CEE 12 endorsed the Regional Action Programme
(RAP CEE) at its regional meeting. The RAP CEE identifies the following priority areas for
regional cooperation: strengthening regional policies; increased knowledge on desertification,
land degradation, and drought (DLDD) in the region; achievement of land degradation neutrality
(LDN); capacity building; organic agriculture; elaboration of joint sustainable land management
(SLM) projects. Sub-regional activities aimed at managing drought in South-Eastern Europe are
underway. In 2006 the countries in this subregion established a Drought Management Centre for
South Eastern Europe (DMCSEE) to better forecast drought occurrences, frequency, and
impacts. The center is hosted by Slovenia and in cooperation with the UNCCD secretariat and
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the region of
Central and Eastern Europe is set to translate the Goals into national targets. Most of the
countries of the region have prioritized SDG 15.3. “By 2030, combat desertification, restore
degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive
to achieve a land degradation-neutral world”. The countries will build national capacity to set up
the LDN target and monitor its achievement.

ANALYSIS
People all around the world are feeling the effects of the climate and environmental
problems most acutely through water: the land is drying up, fertile lands are turning to dust, and
drought prevails. In reality, weather, climate, and water hazards have responsible for 50 percent
of all disasters and 45 percent of all reported deaths since 1970. Tragically, 9 out of 10 of these
deaths happened in poor countries, where drought caused the greatest number of deaths during
this time period (WMO, 2021).
Droughts are one of the most serious dangers to sustainable development, particularly in
developing countries, but also in affluent countries. Drought frequency and duration have
increased by 29 percent since 2000, compared to the previous two decades (WMO, 2021).
Water scarcity already affects over 2.3 billion people and has been view as a major issue.
According to UNICEF, by 2040, one in every four children will be living in areas with severe
water scarcity. The study analysis shows an overlap in the regions in Africa that are highly
endangered to desertification and where periodic temperatures, as well as occurrences of
drought and unpredictable rainfall, have risen over the last 40 years, with areas that had high

17
incidences of terrorist attacks in 2012 and of conflict and food riots in 2007-2008.
Undernourishment, water conflicts, migration, political rebellion, and state failure are
progressively evident in countries where large poor populations that depend on deforestation
are increasingly exposed to extraordinary weather events. According to Monique Barbut,
UNCCD Executive Secretary, "the World Day to Combat Desertification on June 17th is a
unique chance to remind everyone that land degradation may be effectively addressed and that
solutions exist”, as climate change is bringing more extreme weather events, such as extended
droughts and flash floods, to more populations, including those most vulnerable to
desertification. Barbut delivered the remarks in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho in Southern
Africa, via a video-recorded message, at an event organized to kick-start the global campaign
leading up to the 17 June World Day. The campaign promotes an ecosystem-based approach
as a way to climate-proof land and secures its productivity for present and future generations. It
is led by the United Nations and the international organizations driving the 2010-2020 UN
Decade for Deserts and Desertification (UNDDD), including the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD). Desertification occurs in all regions, it has high attentiveness
in developing countries, especially in Africa. for instance, progressing countries in Asia, Africa,
and South America have larger populations living in drylands (GEF & GM, 2006). An estimated
40% of people in Africa and Asia live in areas constantly threatened by desertification (Stather,
2007). Achieving the core objectives of sustainable development will remain an impossible
mission for nearly two billion people living in the world’s drylands, whose biological productivity
is under serious threat from the intensifying trend of desertification (FFO, 2007). Due to
desertification, the annual loss of income is estimated at US$65 billion, and this does not
include the costs incurred in social and environmental aspects (Kannan, 2012). The costs of
desertification are frequently expressed in terms of lost production, which includes decreased
crop yields, grazing intensities, and so on. Secondary costs include the loss of ecosystem
services and ecological functions, which have an impact on the planet's overall sustainability
(Sherbinin, 2002).
The other parties to the UNCCD provide the essential pillar, in terms of finance and
technology, to facilitate the efficacious application of the Convention. The UN Convention on
Climate Change is being implemented through global cooperation and multi-level institutional
arrangements. Though the Convention provides specific strategies, like participatory,
consultative, and bottom-up approaches, these are broader and remain major challenges to
actually implement. UNCCD is more contingent on socioeconomic aspects than the other
environmental agreements (Wolfrum & Nele, 2003) since it recognizes desertification primarily

18
as a problem of sustainable development and is closely interlinked with poverty, food insecurity,
and environmental degradation (Onchere, 1999). Due to its comprehensive coverage of a
number of cross-cutting developmental issues, the implementation of the UNCCD remains a
major challenge for poor countries (Kannan, 2014). Various inventiveness was taken to provide
administration to facilitate effective implementation of the UNCCD within the context of resource
constraints and the ability to grow nations to take up this kind of challenging movement.

CONCLUSION
As aforementioned, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
is an important part of the global effort to reduce poverty, achieve sustainable development, and
meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is the only internationally recognized
legally binding instrument that addresses the problem of land degradation in dryland rural areas.
It enjoys truly universal membership of 191 parties. And, through the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) as its funding mechanism, it is able to channel much-needed resources to
projects aimed at combating the problem, particularly in Africa.
Following through on its commitment to address environmental issues, demonstrates the
huge irresponsibility and intense actions that represent global environmental threats. It
expresses the world community's willingness to combat desertification and the exploitation of
natural resources, particularly in semi-arid regions, through the UNCCD. This recognition is
especially beneficial in countries that are not decentralized. As part of the process of expanding
the aims to a larger scale. Natural resource management and elements that contribute to
strategic cooperation between institutions within participating countries are critical to maintaining
extensive and unique interconnections of actors from smaller communities to bigger ones.
Desertification, like the impact of environmental concerns, can be seen all around the world.
Desertification is wreaking havoc on the environment while also exposing the growing roots of
prospective conflicts. Without a doubt, it's like a domino effect: if the current problem isn't
addressed and solved, the next step will almost certainly be the emergence of a far more
challenging problem. Just like how food insecurity is like Environmental degradation is similar to
how food insecurity is. People are compelled to abandon the land as a means of survival, and
land practices and sustainability are not a concern. If there isn't a good solution for growing
crops or raising livestock, the bulk of people will prefer to leave and settle in a more fertile place.
The convention placed a strong emphasis on poverty alleviation. As a result of the many factors
that constantly guide the movement of people in some areas, particularly in Africa, serious
problems such as high levels of natural resource vulnerability, a lack of and competition for

19
resources, insufficient water sources, and topsoil loss have become geostrategic issues in many
regions.
The convention highlights the importance of the national and local levels of governance,
as well as the exchange of technical and scientific knowledge. The Convention's Bodies play an
important role in implementing the convention's parties and general requirements. The
implementation of the rules and convention is strongly reliant on sub-regional linkages to
address the early open and cooperative discussions of environmental concerns and solutions.
Despite their vast interconnectedness, sub-regional networks should be strengthened because
they played a critical role in strengthening and preparing strategic works to spread the
convention's contents. Similarly, knowledge sharing is primarily carried out by environmental
groups, not simply the UNCCD. As a result, this technique allows individuals and organizations
to comprehend its concept and the reasons for its implementation in developing solutions to
difficulties that must be adequately addressed.
However, one of the challenges that UNCCD is facing is the well-established
constitution, which aided them at the start of the program, but as the problem grows in severity
and the influence of international politics grows, it becomes necessary for them to amend the
conventions to align with the growing multilateral framework. Because it is a driving force behind
the Convention's effective substantive modifications. As a result, the UNCCD has been accused
of being more concerned with the broader socioeconomic situation than with the environmental
crisis. This demonstrates that the framework has clearly identified the convention as being
principally concerned with poverty eradication and food security. Despite its national Parties'
best efforts, the UNCCD continues to face formidable obstacles. Anthropogenic and climatic
causes continue to put ecosystems in vulnerable areas where over one billion people live in
poverty to the test. Nonetheless, the fight against environmental degradation is considered as a
critical public good on a worldwide scale. It envisioned how people should work together to
resist environmental irresponsibility and natural resource exploitation in order to avoid future
catastrophic disasters.
Desertification is an evolving task, as has been demonstrated for years. The effects of
desertification are felt worldwide, not just in one country, hence the responsibility is enormous,
and action should be made. Fighting desertification demands innovative responses from various
parties, from well-established states to grassroots organizations, as has been demonstrated in
the past. As part of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, it was revealed that
the international community’s role in bringing the Convention down to earth through the
partnership-based implementation process.

20
 Because the Convention is dependent on the engagement of so many interested
agencies, stakeholders, and partners, its success cannot be presumed. The secretariat relies on
the continued help and understanding of all parties involved to keep the pace required to
combat land degradation and drought. Climate change and other environmental challenges are
worsening, putting the Convention's efficacy in jeopardy. Despite this, the Convention is
adamant that desertification can be reversed. The Convention is well-suited to dealing with the
world's many social, economic, and political issues. It is, however, unable to do so on its own.
Finally, our attitude toward Mother Earth is now reflected in major environmental challenges
such as climate change. At the end of the day, we humans are to blame for the deterioration of
our world. Carelessness is excessively irresponsible. As a result, it should not be overlooked,
just as people in Africa have not given up despite their conditions. As the voice grows stronger,
the Convention's implementation and the inclusion of organizations and individuals create the
path for more ideas, aims, mandates, and perspectives to be realized. The convention's broad
representation has been able to hear the people's voices and provide transparency in financial
and support methods. The severity of the problems is severely highlighted in the international
arena, sending a message to the public to be committed to the process of removing these
problems. The effectiveness of this reaction will be determined by the international community's
commitment and readiness to use the tools afforded by the Convention.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Despite UNCCD bodies' efforts to provide better solutions to desertification, the situation
has not improved. As a result, in this time of widespread socio-economic difficulties, the UNCCD
must place a strong emphasis on improving the Convention's performance in order to make
significant progress, as well as focusing on strategic planning as a mechanism that requires
additional planning and monitoring in order to deliver significant benefits. The more
comprehensive and strategic a plan is, the more likely it is to place a high value on an increased
budget, as funding is a positive indicator for the UNCCD's future activity on a larger scale.
Furthermore, UNCCD bodies must seek to develop scientific foundations in order to aid
information dissemination regarding the world's drylands. As part of the partnership-based
implementation process, the committee aims to promote policy-oriented implementation;
however, UNCCD bodies must respond to calls from various ties, grass-roots people, and
organizations to formulate objectives such as improving the living conditions of affected
populations, generating objectives to improve the conditions of affected ecosystems, and
mobilizing resources to support the implementation of the Convention through interconnection.

21
This is to advocate, raise awareness and conduct educational forums on the international,
national, and local levels.
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in conjunction with regenerative land
management and enhanced water management methods, is predicted to significantly lower the
likelihood of major drought episodes (Hoegh-Guldberg, O., 2018). Drought management
requires a paradigm shift from 'reactive' and 'crisis-based' techniques to 'proactive' and
'risk-based' approaches (Tsegai, D., & Brüntrup, M., 2019). Therefore, restoration alone will not
suffice; we must also safeguard and manage lands through better consumption and production
methods. This entails using sustainable and effective management approaches to produce more
food while using less land and water. To far, 128 nations have indicated political will to pursue a
strategy that would reach or exceed Land Degradation Neutrality. This is encouraging
development, but much more needs to be done. We must make a commitment to pursue
coordinated policy and partnerships at all levels. The first task is to create and implement
comprehensive drought action plans. We should put in place strong early-warning systems that
can communicate across borders. Satellite monitoring and artificial intelligence, for example,
provide much-needed guidance and precision for informed decisions. To strengthen drought
resilience at the local level, we should mobilize sustainable funding. Investing in soil health is
good for business while also protecting our communities and ecosystems. Drought is terrifying
because of the devastation it causes in people's lives, yet it can be overcome with
inventiveness, determination, and cooperation. It has the potential to spur action toward
much-needed sustainable land and water management techniques. Finally, we will prosper only
if we are comprehensive and mobilize farmers, local communities, businesses, consumers,
investors, entrepreneurs, and young people.

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