Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 7 • Number 11 • 8th June 2007

Trade Included in UN Desertification Convention’s Ten-Year Plan

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A working group of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has decided to include trade within the strategic plan to enhance the implementation of the convention over the next ten years (2008-2018).

At a 29-31 May gathering in Geneva, participants at the fourth meeting of the UNCCD’s Intersessional Intergovernmental Working Group (IIWG) specifically mandated the convention’s Global Mechanism to explore trade-related opportunities as part of its mission to help raise funds to aid developing countries affected by land degradation.

The main purpose of the meeting was to approve and adopt the final version of the draft “Ten-year Strategic Plan and Framework to Enhance the Implementation of the UNCCD (2008-2018).” The draft, which was prepared by a team of consultants, is based on the framework developed by the IIWG at its first two meetings. It was first made available to UNCCD Parties in March, during the fifth Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 5) in Buenos Aires.

The purpose of the document is to help establish the convention as “the global authority on policies and measures to reverse and prevent desertification/land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought through scientific and technological excellence, standard setting and advocacy to drive resource mobilization.” Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) expressed concern before the IIWG meeting about the lack of information regarding the development of the document and the lack of participation of civil society groups in the process. However, they were able to submit recommendations on the draft document to the chair of the IIWG prior to the meeting.

Additional Resources

Draft “Ten-Year Strategic Plan and Framework to Enhance Implementation of the UNCCD (2008-2018)” can be accessed at http://www.unccd.int/cop/officialdocs/cric5/pdf/inf6eng.pdf.

ICTSD reporting.