II. The international convention to combat desertification
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Background
5. UNCED devoted a full chapter (Chapter 12) of its Agenda 21, "a programme of action for sustainable development worldwide" to "combating desertification and drought". The chapter includes six main programme areas on:
6. The average total annual cost for the period 1993-2000 of implementing activities of the whole chapter was estimated by the UNCED Secretariat at US$8.7 billion including about US$4.9 billion from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These figures do not include the cost of the third programme area (integrated socioeconomic development programmes in areas prone to desertification) which was included in those of Chapter 3 (Combating poverty) and 14 (Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development).
7. Chapter 12 called for a strengthening of the cooperation between "relevant international organizations, multilateral financial institutions, NGOs and bilateral agencies" in assisting governments of affected countries "with the preparation of desertification control programmes and their integration into national planning strategies", and requested the General Assembly at its 47th Session (end 1992) "to establish under its aegis an intergovernmental negotiating committee for the elaboration of an international convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, with a view to finalizing such a convention by June 1994".
8. Under its resolution 471188 the General Assembly called for the establishment of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INCD) and for the convening of five sessions of this body in order to finalize the Convention by June 1994. Ambassador Bo Kjellen of Sweden, who had chaired one of the Working Groups of the UNCED Preparatory Committee, was elected Chairman of the Committee and a Secretariat was subsequently formed with Ambassador Hama Arba Diallo of Burkina Faso as Executive Secretary.
9, The Committee met five times: Nairobi, May 1993; Geneva, September 1993; New York, January 1994; Geneva, March 1994; and Paris, June 1994. An International Panel of Experts on Desertification (IPED), consisting of some fifteen international specialists, was also constituted to advise the Committee. It met five times during the negotiating period with representatives of concerned UN agencies (including FAO). The Committee adopted a final text of the Convention with its regional annexes and resolutions on "Urgent Action for Africa" (see Appendix) and "Interim Arrangements" (see below) on 18 June at the end of its fifth session.
FAO's support to the negotiating process
10. FAO, which had been involved in the preparation of Chapter 12, contributed actively to the negotiating process. In doing so it complied with Article I of its constitution which states that "The organization shall promote and where appropriate shall recommend national and international action with respect to the conservation of natural resources and the adoption of improved methods of agricultural production". It is considered that the Convention is particularly relevant to the food and agriculture sector and therefore to FAO as root causes of desertification are poverty, underdevelopment and food insecurity of farming, grazing and other rural communities trying to eke out a living in the most unfavourable climatic conditions.
11. A significant part of the activities of the regular and field programmes of the Organization has always been concerned with agriculture and rural development in the dry zones particularly in subSaharan Africa. It was therefore part of FAO's duty to bring to bear its wide experience in desertification control and sustainable development of drylands on the preparation of the Convention. This, the Organization did in a number of ways including:
- an annotated bibliography of all FAO's studies and field reports for the period 19751992;
- a brochure "Sustainable Development of Drylands and Combating Desertification - FAO Position Paper";
- a booklet "Key Aspects of Strategies for the Sustainable Development of Drylands"; and
- "flyers" on specific technical and socioeconomic aspects of desertification;
12. Many of FAO's technical and operating divisions in the Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Economic and Social Policy Departments have been active over the years in the field of desertification control and sustainable development of drylands. Normative and field activities have ranged from the monitoring of natural resources and climatic conditions and the implementation of early warning programmes; the generation of technologies and assistance to countries in the fields of soil and water conservation, irrigation, integrated management of rangelands and animal production, management of woodlands and tree planting, agroforestry, food security and energy for sustainable rural development; assistance in policy formulation, planning and investment preparation as well as country capacity-building in these fields.
13. In order to harmonize and strengthen its work in desertification control and dryland development and provide the necessary support to the Convention, FAO established a Working Group on Desertification (within the framework of its Interdepartmental Working Group on Environment and Sustainable Development) which acted as the focal point and cooperation mechanism throughout the negotiation of the Convention.
The Convention
14. The Convention and its four regional annexes (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Northern Mediterranean) are due for signature from mid-October in Paris and then in New York. The Convention itself contains one Preamble and 38 Articles divided into six parts: Part I: Introduction (Articles 1 to 3); Part II: General Provisions (Articles 4 to 8); Part III: Action Programmes, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Supporting Measures (Articles 9 to 21); Part IV: Institutions (Articles 22 to 25); Part V: Procedures (Articles 26 to 32); and Part VI: Final Provisions (Articles 33 to 38).
15. The objective of the Convention as stated in Article 2 of Part I is "to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, through effective action at all levels, supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements, in the framework of an integrated approach which is consistent with Agenda 21, with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in affected areas".
16. In achieving this objective the Parties to the Convention should be guided by the four principles of i) participation of populations and local communities, ii) improved cooperation and coordination at subregional, regional and international levels, iii) cooperation among all levels of government, communities, NGOs and land-holders, and iv) full consideration taken of the special needs and circumstances of affected developing countries Parties, particularly the least-developed among them (Article 3).
17. General obligations of all Parties and those specific to affected country Parties and to developed ones are also listed in Part II. These obligations are briefly the following:
Part II, in addition, stresses the priority, to be given to affected African country Parties and the coordination of activities carried out under the Convention with those under other relevant agreements, particularly the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
18. Section 1 of Part III covers the various aspects of formulation and implementation of national, sub-regional and regional action programmes to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought; and its Section 2 sets the provisions for information collection, analysis and exchange, research and development, and transfer, acquisition, adaptation and development of technology.
19. It was on the contents of Section 3 of Part III "Supporting Measures" that agreement was most difficult to reach, particularly with regard to financial resources and mechanisms (Articles 20 and 21). The need for new and additional financial resources and a Desertification Fund as proposed by the G-77 countries were not accepted by OECD countries. Article 20 specifies simply that developed country Parties undertake to mobilize substantial financial resources to support the implementation of related programmes and to take other measures to facilitate international funding. Article 21 provides for the establishment of a Global Mechanism "to promote actions leading to the mobilization and channelling of substantial financial resources" which is to function under the authority and guidance of the Conference of the Parties and be accountable to it".
20. Part IV establishes a Conference of the Parties (CoP), supreme body of the Convention which "shall make, within its mandate, the decisions necessary to promote its effective implementation"; Secretariat to be designated by the CoP at its first session; a Committee on Science and Technology, as a Subsidiary Body of the CoP "to provide it with information and advice on scientific and technological matters" related to the subjects of the Convention; and it contemplates a networking of existing institutions, bodies and networks at the local, national and international levels to assist in scientific and technical cooperation and capacity building.
21. Finally Parts V and VI on Procedures and Final Provisions provide, as in other Conventions for communication of information between Parties and the CoP, settlement of disputes, amendments to the Convention, adoption of other annexes and amendment to annexes, right to vote, signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by States, entry into force (after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession), and withdrawal by a Party.
22. Pending the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the "Resolution on interim arrangements" adopted by the INCD at its fifth session last June requests the Secretary General to make necessary arrangements for convening a session of the INCD from 9 to 20 January 1995 and to make recommendations to the General Assembly for further sessions of the Committee and for the present Secretariat to continue its activities until the Permanent Secretariat is established.
The Regional Implementation Annex for Africa - the Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa
23. The Annex for Africa, like the three other regional ones, forms an integral part of the Convention. Its purpose at the national, sub-regional and regional levels and taking into account the particular conditions of the African region, is to identify means and arrangements, including the nature and processes of assistance provided by developed country Parties, to provide for the efficient and practical implementation of the Convention in the region and to promote related processes and activities.
24. The particular conditions of the African region identified are the high proportion of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, the substantial number of countries (of which many are landlocked and many are least-developed countries) and of populations adversely affected, the difficult socio-economic conditions exacerbated by the terms of trade, external indebtedness and political instability, the serious natural resources degradation, the insufficient institutional capacity and the central role of desertification control and mitigation of drought effects in national development priorities.
25. The Annex states the general commitments and obligations of African country Parties and those of developed country Parties. It fixes the timetable and general features and contents of the national action programmes (measures aiming at eradicating poverty, conserving natural resources, improving the institutional set-up, improving knowledge and assessing/monitoring the effects of drought), as well as the broad modalities of their preparation, implementation and evaluation. Each country is "to designate an appropriate national coordinating body to function as a catalyst in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of its national action programme". The Annex covers also, in a less detailed manner, the preparation and implementation of the sub-regional and regional action programmes.
26. Articles on financial resources and mechanisms parallel the relevant ones in the Convention, calling the developed country Parties to "continue to allocate significant resources and/or increased resources and other forms of assistance to affected African country Parties ... giving inter alia due attention to matters related to debt, international trade and marketing arrangements"; and calling all Parties to facilitate the establishment of mechanisms such as "national desertification funds".
27. The Annex encourages African country Parties to organize consultative processes to negotiate and conclude partnership agreements based on the action programmes at the national, sub-regional and regional levels liaison with the Permanent Secretariat. The last article stipulates that the followup of the Annex should be carried out by African country Parties at national level by a mechanism including representatives of local communities, and at sub-regional level by a multidisciplinary scientific and technical consultative committee.
28. The Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa, (see Appendix) considers "the priority given to Africa in the Convention and the need for urgent measures to be taken during the period between the adoption of the Convention and the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties, consistent with the objectives of the Contention", and invites the affected African countries to take urgent steps to prepare and implement national and sub-regional action programmes; and invites developed countries, international and multilateral organizations (including FAO), African sub-regional and regional organizations and privatesector and relevant non-governmental organizations to provide support and mobilize necessary resources to the affected African countries.
29. The Resolution "recommends, as priority, the establishment, at national and sub-regional levels in the affected African countries of partnership arrangements" with developed countries and all the above organizations, aiming at supporting the preparation, or review, of national and subregional action programmes, at improving coordination and at assisting in the implementation of specific project proposals within the context of action programmes. It further "invites the developed countries and international and multilateral organizations, agencies and programmes to provide enabling funds to support these partnership arrangements".
Role of FAO in the implementation of the Convention, and more particularly of Its Annex for Africa and of the Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa
30. The role of the international community, and particularly of the intergovernmental bodies is defined in Part III in several articles (9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19) where Parties are called to encourage organs, funds, programmes of the United Nations system and other relevant organizations in a position to cooperate in accordance with their mandates and capabilities to support the elaboration, implementation and follow-up of the action programmes. They are also called to make full use of the expertise of competent intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to disseminate relevant information and experiences among target groups in different regions.
31. Through its major functions of assessment and monitoring of the natural resources, policy and planning assistance, development of technologies, capacity building and field demonstration in the agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and rural development sectors, FAO will continue to contribute actively to the control of desertification, mitigation of the effects of drought and integrated dryland development in the affected countries of Africa.
32. The Special Programme on Food Production for Food Security in Low Income Food Deficit Countries as proposed by the Director-General and approved by the Council at its 106th Session should play a key role in the FAO response to the Convention and the implementation of the Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa. The new thrusts given to FAO activities and the changes brought about to the structures of the Organization (see document ARC/94/INF/10) place higher emphasis on the adoption of improved technologies, peoples' participation, increased investment, national capacity-building and sustainable development. These decisions of the Council including those on decentralization cannot but enhance FAO's capacity-to assist governments of Member Nations in Africa, in partnership with subregional and regional organizations as well as international agencies and NGOs, in the implementation of the Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa.
33. FAO has several other major, relevant programmes which are already in place at national, subregional and regional levels, and should contribute significantly to the implementation of the Convention in the African countries. The International Scheme for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of African Lands (ISCRAL), details are given below, is one of these. Others, such as, the Global Information and Early Warning System for Food and Agriculture (GIEWS),the Food Security Assistance. Scheme (FSAS), the Tropical Forestry Action Programme (TFAP), the Forests, Trees and People Programme (FTP), the African Real Time Environmental Monitoring using Imaging Satellites Project (ARTEMIS) and the Africa Land Cover Map and Digital Geographic Database Project (AFRICOVER), the Global Forest Resources Assessment Programme (FRA), make significant contributions to the objectives of combating desertification and drought.
34. In addition, as a first step in the implementation of the Resolution "Urgent Action for Africa", and at the request of the Government of Mali and of IGADD, FAO is assisting the latter country and subregional organization in the follow up to the case-studies they have formulated under the aegis of the INCD. This activity, conducted in close consultation with the INCD Secretariat aims at converting these case studies into programme and project documents which may be submitted to the donor community for funding. Following preliminary discussions held in September, the work is now proceeding in Mali and with the IGADD Secretariat and it is hoped to complete it with donor round tables before mid-1995.