United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

The objective of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD), is:

"to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in an integrated approach aimed at contributing to sustainable development in affected areas."

The Convention was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and entered into force on 26 December 1996. As of April 2003, 186 countries were Parties to the Convention.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention. It met annually from 1997 to 2001 and meets biannually beginning 2001. The sixth COP will take place in August-September 2003 in Havana, Cuba. The COP has two subsidiary bodies: the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC). The CRIC, established in 2001 at COP 5, meets annually. It analyses reports submitted by country Parties and observers on measures taken in their implementation of the Convention and draws conclusions in order to ensure the effective assessment of progress towards achieving the objectives of the Convention and to enable the COP to make appropriate recommendations to further those objectives.

Country Parties are required to regularly submit reports to the COP/CRIC and the content of the reports differ slightly depending on the category (ies) a Party falls:

Parties affected by desertification and drought report on their strategies to combat desertification and provide relevant information on their implementation. Affected Parties that have National Action Programmes (NAPs) also describe in detail the programmes and their implementation. Groups of affected country Parties may make a joint communication on measures taken to implement the Convention through the subregional and/or regional levels.
Developed country Parties report on measures taken to support the preparation and implementation of action programmes at all levels, including information on financial resources.
Parties that are both affected and developed observe both obligations: to present a national report and a report as a developed country Party. Information provided in these reports has relevance to sustainable forest management. In particular, information on measures taken in the NAP to improve natural resource conservation, on monitoring and assessment of effects of drought and on participatory processes in the preparation and implementation of the NAPs, have relevance.

Go to: UNCCD home page

Reports: content and reporting frequency

The first reporting process under the UNCCD took place in 1999-2000. Affected African country Parties submitted reports in 1999, while the affected country Parties of other regions provided their reports in 2000. Developed country Parties, as well as intergovernmental, non-governmental and United Nations organizations, submitted reports in 1999 and/or 2000.

The second reporting process under the UNCCD took place in 2002. It included affected country Parties of all regions, developed country Parties, as well as intergovernmental and United Nations organizations. The reports were reviewed by the CRIC 1 in November 2002.

Both the Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) that met in 2001 and CRIC 1 in 2002 produced a comprehensive report for consideration by the COP, which makes decisions on actions to be taken to further the implementation of the Convention.

Future reporting processes will be carried out in relation to each inter-sessional session of the CRIC (2004, 2006, etc.), with alternation between affected African country Parties (2004, 2008, etc.) and affected country Parties of other regions (2006, 2010, etc.) Developed country Parties as well as intergovernmental and United Nations organizations will report in relation to each session of the CRIC (2004, 2006, 2008, etc.). These are, however, subject to renewal of the Terms of Reference of the CRIC in 2005.

Reports are provided at four different levels. The different kinds of reports and their related main topics are reviewed below:

Reports on national action programmes

Strategies and priorities within the framework of sustainable development plans and/or policies
Institutional measures taken to implement the UNCCD
Participatory process in the preparation and implementation of national action programme (NAP)
Consultative process in the preparation and implementation of the NAP and partnership agreements with developed country Parties and other interested entities
Measures taken or planned within NAP, i.a., to improve economic environment, natural resource conservation, institutional organization, and knowledge of desertification; and to monitor and assess drought effects
National budget allocation and financial and technical assistance received
Benchmarks and progress indicators used

Reports on subregional and regional action programmes (SRAPs and RAPs, respectively)

Areas of cooperation under the programme and measures taken or planned
Consultative process in the preparation and implementation of the programme and partnership agreements with developed country Parties and other interested entities
Financial allocations by affected country Parties of the subregion or region in support of implementation as well as financial assistance and technical cooperation received and needed
Benchmarks and progress indicators used

Reports of developed country Parties

Consultative process and partnership agreements in which they are involved
Measures taken to support the preparation and implementation of action programmes at all levels, including information on the financial resources they have provided, or are providing, both bilaterally and multilaterally

Reports of affected developed country Parties not preparing action programmes

Strategies and priorities within the framework of sustainable development plans and/or policies, to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought and any relevant information on their implementation

Links:

UNCCD home page

UNCCD reporting process

Thematic Programme Networks (TPNs)

Promotion of agroforestry and soil conservation in Africa

Agroforestry and soil conservation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas in Asia

Last updated: april 2006