Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New York (Agenzia Fides) – Today is the World Day to Combat Desertification, as indicated by the United Nations, with the theme: “Combating Land Degradation for Sustainable Agriculture.” In 1994, the UN declared June 17th World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, in order to spread public awareness and promote the activities of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in the countries that suffer from severe drought and desertification, especially in Africa. Since then, the countries that form a part of the UNCCD, the internal UN organizations, international and non-governmental organizations, and other parties involved, celebrate this day with a vast number of activities throughout the world. The problem of desertification and drought now affects nearly 250 million people.
In his message for this Day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon mentioned that the day’s theme, in which a link is made between sustainable agriculture and the combat against the land desertification, reaffirms the importance of the land as an indispensable universal patrimony at the service of mankind. He also highlighted that some of the great global natural phenomena have placed the traditional methods of cultivating land, in jeopardy: especially the growing demographic pressure and, as a consequence, the demand for agricultural products; linked to this phenomenon is the adoption of such agricultural practices as monoculture, which contributes to the crisis in the food system and the ecosystem.
The message from the UN Secretary General affirms that it is the duty of the international community to recognize that the arid and marginal lands, hove to half of the planet’s poor, are lands that can be used for agricultural farming and are a great potential in acquiring food and energy for the future.
Today, in fact, marks the beginning of the ten-year plan for the fight against desertification, which began one year ago in Madrid. The plan launched by the UNCCD has as its main objective, to reinforce the implementation of the objectives established by the Convention and therefore, that of obtaining the two-fold result of fighting poverty and promoting stable and lasting agricultural systems. Since 2002, 179 countries have joined the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Another one of the main questions especially affecting Africa, and now several central Asian regions, is that of drought and the climate changes in effect.
According to the United Nations, the current desertification process is the result of land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, mainly due to climatic variations and human activities. Thus, desertification cannot be considered a mere expansion of the existing deserts. Therefore, the desertification of the third millenium is due to the fact that the ecosystems of arid lands, that cover over one third of the earth’s land, are extremely vulnerable to the over-exploitation and inappropriate use of lands.
Poverty, political instability, deforestation, the excessive extension of farmlands, and the spread of faulty irrigation systems, are all factors in that contribute to the deterioration of land productivity. Over 250 million people are directly affected by the desertification process and in over 100 countries there are nearly one billion people at risk. Among the latter is a great majority of people living in the cities, suffering from poverty, marginalization, and a lack of say in politics. (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 17/6/2008)
