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Photos
and RealAudio for Monday, 22 November
During the first day
of the Special Session, delegates heard 36 statements, including
statements from 17 Ministers and Deputy Ministers and the heads
of GEF, UNEP and IFAD. In the afternoon, the Committee of the Whole
met to discuss, inter alia, the proposal to add a new regional
implementation annex to the Convention for Central and Eastern Europe.
Bo Kjellén, Sweden, will facilitate consultations regarding the
draft decision. The COW also considered draft decisions for medium-term
strategy, COP-4 and COP-5 programme of work, and cooperation with
other conventions. A Parliamentary Round Table also met throughout
the day to discuss the role Parliamentarians can play in combating
desertification at the national level.
The arrival of many familiar faces
as the second week of COP-3 began buoyed some participants' hopes
that the institutional memory and negotiating skills they bring
will invigorate COP-3 deliberations. However, some still expect
a long week of informal consultations, particularly on the programme
and budget and procedures to review implementation. Some said that
some programme and budget issues must await final decisions on other
issues, such as implementation and the Global Mechanism, as well
as resolution on contentious debates, including whther funds can
be moved between budget item lines and the overall funding level
for the Global Mechanism and Secretariat. Informal consultatiions
on Convention implementation ahve reportedly focused on whether
to create a new committee, with some compromise proposals suggesting
alternatives for its composition among other things.
(See below to listen to speeches
from the Special Segment)
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Special Segment
In the morning Plenary, delegates heard
speeches from Ministers and Deputy Ministers, as well as from Hama
Arba Diallo, CCD Executive Secretary, José
Sarney Filho, Brazilian Minister of the for the Environment and COP-3
President, Klaus Töpfer, UNEP Executive Director, Fawzi Al-Sultan,
President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
and Mohamed El-Ashry, CEO of the GEF |
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José Sarney Filho, COP-3 President
and Brazilian Minister for the Environment
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CCD
Executive Secretary Hama Arba Diallo
(FRENCH)
Executive Secretary Diallo noted
that while previous Conference of the Parties addressed mechanisms
for implementation, COP-3 is the first meeting where national
reports on CCD implementation have been considered. He called
on developed countries to intensify support to developing countries.
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José Sarney Filho, Brazilian Minister of the for the Environment
and COP-3 President (PORTUGEUSE)
COP-3 President Filho expressed Brazil's hope for
a Mandate that includes a declaration of commitments for the next
10 years focusing on energy, water management, reforestation and
afforestation, traditional knowledge, early warning systems, indicators
to assess CCD implementation, and involves governments, intergovernmental
organizations, NGOs, the private sector and all other relevant actors.
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GEF CEO Mohamed El-Ashry, UNEP
Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, and IFAD President Fawzi Al-Sultan
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UNEP
Executive Director Klaus
Töpfer
(ENGLISH) (with the delegation of Benin
Executive Director Töpfer underlined the close
linkages between desertification and poverty, and stressed that
strategies to improve the environment should build on the wisdom
of women and cooperation with all stakeholders. He highlighted UNEP's
activities to combat desertification, including support to regional
coordination units in Latin America, Africa and Asia and cooperation
with the Global Mechanism.
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Fawzi
Al-Sultan, President of the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) (ENGLISH)
President Al Sultan recalled that no official funding
was was provided for the Global Mechanism in 1998 and that, without
consultation with IFAD, the initial requested budget of US$3 million
for the Global Mechanism was set at only US$1 million. he said that
if IFAD had aware the Global Mechanism had been in adequately funded,
it would have withdrawn its offer to house th Mechanism. He urged
the COP to ensure that the budget, is met to enable it to carry
out its mandated function.
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Mohamed
El-Ashry, CEO of the Global Environment Facility
(ENGLISH)
El-Ashry drew attention to the GEF's new operational
programme for integrated ecosystem management and to a new partnership
forged with its implementing agencies on land and water degradation
with initial emphasis on Africa. He highlighted the linkages paper
prepared by the GEF to be presented to the GEF council in December.
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Kirsti
Lintonen, Deputy Minister for Development, Finland speaking for
the European Union (ENGLISH)
The EU said: the Global Mechanism should give
priority to mobilizing existing resources; the search for synergies
with other Rio Conventions should be a major objective of national
and community-level implementation; and that, regarding implementation,
delegates should not miss the opportunity to examine lessons learned
by diverting too much conference time to less important issues.
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Allison Drayton, Guyana for the G-77/China (ENGLISH)
The G-77/China noted that developing country
Parties place a high priority on their responsibilities and expressed
hope that the developed countries' failure to participate at senior
Ministerial levels does not reflect a faltering of political will.
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| Etienne Kayengeyenge, Director General,
Ministry of Land Management and the Environment, Burundi, said the
Global Mechanism should establish a communication system to report
on the results of its activities. |
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Li Yucai, Vice-Minister for Forestry,
China, proposed adopting a medium-term strategy by COP-4
Anatoliy Ovchinnikov, Uzbekistan, highlighted
the worsening environmental situation in the Aral Sea region and
supported elaborating a fifth Annex for Central and Eastern Europe.
He said this would promote interregional cooperation in CCD implementation
and reflect the needs of these countries..
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Harry Thomson, Minister of Natural Resources and
Environmental Affairs, Malawi, proposed establishing a committee
to review CCD implementation and urged Parties to increase support
to the Global Mechanism.He also supported a fifth annex to the Convention
Samvel Baloyan, Armenia, called for
a fifth annex for Central and Eastern Europe
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Bo Kjellén, Sweden, speaks with
Willem R.J. Van Cotthem, Belguim. Kjellén will facilitate consultations
on the draft decision regarding an additional regional implementation
annex for Central and Eastern Europe.
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Interparliamentary Round Table
An interparliamentary Round Table met to discuss
the role Parliamentarians can play in combating desertification
at the national level. Building on COP-2's Round Table session,
they reaffirmed their commitments to designing educational, scientific
and cultural policies for CCD implementation.
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| CCD Executive Secretary Diallo, COP-3
President Filho, Antonio Fernando Cruz de Mello, Brazilian Ministry
for the Environment, Jaime Trobo, Interparliamentary Union (IPU),
and Michel Temer, President of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and
Chair of the Round Table session |
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Jaime Trobo, IPU, (left) noted
the importance of parliamentary involvement in the CCD process through
strengthening of institutional and legislative frameworks. Michel
Temer highlighted the importance of public hearings, governmental
commissions and national debate to address desertification problems.
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| The Negotiable Desert: Expert
Knowledge in the Negotiations of the CCD |
Elisabeth Corell, Wallenberg Fellow in Environment
and Sustainability, Department of Urban Studies and Planning,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
"The Negotiable Desert: Expert Knowledge
in the Negotiations of the CCD" This study analyzes the influence
of both NGOs and scientific advisors on the negotiation process
and establishes that while the scientific advisers were called
upon to provide advice to the negotiation process and are generally
regarded as experts, the NGOs also had expertise to provide. .
For further information or to order a copy of
the dissertation, contact:
Elisabeth Corell, ecorell@mit.edut
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 Linkages
desertification page
UNCCD
Secretariat website
(with official
documents)
Introduction
to the CCD
ENB
coverage of the CCD COP-2
ENB
Archives: volume 4 (desertification)
Desertification
links
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