Daily report for 24 May 1993

ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS

The Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee toelaborate a convention to combat desertification in those countriesexperiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularlyin Africa (INCD), Ambassador Bo Kjell‚n of Sweden, opened the firstsession of the Committee at 3:00 pm. The Committee quickly adoptedthe agenda and organization of work (A/AC.241/5), that had beendrafted at the organizational meeting in January. Kjell‚n thenproceeded to review the programme of work for this session in moredetail. On Agenda Item 2, the election of officers, he mentionedthat the Committee still needed to elect a Rapporteur and thatthree positions on the bureaus of the working group still must befilled. With regard to the working groups, he proposed that thebureaus consist of a Chair and two Vice-Chairs and that one of theVice-Chairs will serve as Rapporteur. Kjell‚n announced that theelections for these positions will be held on Wednesday orThursday, 26 or 27 May.

Kjell‚n also made the following amendments to the annex to document241/5. The accreditation of NGOs will not be addressed untilWednesday to give delegates 24 hours to review the list, as calledfor in the rules of procedure. The Committee will not meet onSaturday, but there is the possibility of evening sessions on bothThursdays. Kjell‚n also announced that the Bureau will meet everyafternoon at 6:00 pm in the Chair's office and that the Secretariatwill hold inter-agency meetings every morning.

The next item on the agenda was the election of officers. Slovakia,on behalf of the Eastern European Group, announced that the groupwas nominating Dr. Serguei N. Morozov from the Russian Federationfor the position of Rapporteur. Dr. Morozov was elected byacclamation and, thus, completed the INCD Bureau.

WELCOMING STATEMENTS

Franklin Cardy, the deputy executive director of UNEP, spoke onbehalf of UNEP Executive Director Elizabeth Dowdeswell, who wasunable to attend. Cardy mentioned that there are 9,000 millionpeople in 100 countries exposed to desertification and billions ofdollars are spent treating the consequences. He said that landdegradation is caused by humans, but exacerbated by climate. Thosemost affected are overworked peasant farmers and women whosepriorities are to feed their families. There is a need to supportthese farmers so that their land use is sustainable and notdestructive. He added that community-based activities havegenerally been the most effective at combatting land degradation.He urged the delegates to negotiate a successful convention.

INCD Chair Kjell‚n said that the delegates were beginning both anew venture and a new adventure as these negotiations will have tofind innovative solutions to the problems of desertification anddrought. He stated that they need to set a standard of shortstatements, clear negotiating goals and results, as they owe thisto the people who live in areas suffering from desertification.They do not know the INCD, but the INCD will have an impact onthem, he added. He hoped that the spirit of Rio and the perceptionof the drylands problem as a global concern will carry thenegotiations through. He wants to have a consolidated text of theconvention available by the end of the year. He said that theconvention and the protocol for Africa should serve as a firm basisand a platform for a continuing process, including other regionalprotocols. He expressed hope that there will be rapid signatures,beginning at the 49th General Assembly in 1994, and a prompt startto the Convention.

INFORMATION SHARING SEGMENT

Professor Robert Balling, Arizona State University, USA:Prof. Balling spoke about the inter-relationships between theglobal climate system, drought and desertification, including theimpact of desertification on climate change and global warming. Thefirst part of his presentation addressed what is known aboutclimate in the drylands. The major characteristic of drylandclimates is their unusual variability. Precipitation varies fromseason to season and year to year and consistent cycles are nottypically found in dryland rainfall data.

He then addressed the question of whether dryland droughts can bepredicted. Dryland precipitation levels are linked statistically tosea surface conditions, the impact of El Nio and southernoscillation events, general atmospheric circulation patterns, solarpatterns, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and hurricanes. At thispoint scientists understand what is driving the climate patterns indrylands and can predict the rainfall in seasons, if not in months.

Human activities have impacted the surface and atmosphere indrylands primarily by reducing vegetation cover through overgrazingand cultivation practices. He elaborated on the scientific debateon the relationship between a decrease in soil and vegetative coverand climate change. With regard to the greenhouse effect, hecommented that drylands are not major emitters of greenhouse gasesor major carbon sinks. Climate change is bad news for drylandswhere temperatures may increase by 2-5 degrees.

In the discussion that followed, Egypt commented on the role ofdrylands as a sink for greenhouse gases and the important issue ofdeserts as an emitter of particulates in the atmosphere. Hestressed the point that no one country alone can do early weatherforecasting that can predict drought. The UK mentioned the largeareas of uncertainty in the links between climate anddesertification. He added that the UK had commissioned a report onthis subject and that he would make it available to otherdelegates.

Professor A.M. Imevbore, Obaferni Awolowo University,Nigeria: Prof. Imevbore spoke about desertification as a threatto the conservation and utilization of biodiversity. He emphasizedthe need to redefine desertification. He pointed out thatdesertification can be defined by vegetation cover, short savanna,woodlands, and by impact of human activity such as logging, reducedavailability of water and reduction in woody biomass. He emphasizedthe importance of conserving biodiversity in the drylands and saidthat 64 out of 300 species of medicinal plants are located in thedrylands and that the few existing plant species in the drylandsserve multiple purposes. He also highlighted the importance of thetourism industry based on wildlife found in the drylands, such asKenya. He concluded that there is need to conserve biodiversity andunderlined the vast amount of research required to manage thedrylands efficiently. These include availability of remote-sensingdata for drought preparedness, strengthening of institutionalstructures for the management of wildlife, fauna and flora and thesearch for greater perenniality.

In the discussion that followed, Egypt emphasized that they shouldnot redefine terms but use the definitions provided in Agenda 21.He also emphasized the need to distinguish between desertificationand drought. The constraint of poverty in biodiversity conservationwas also raised.

UNESCO (Habib Zebidi, Programme Specialist in Hydrology,Division of Water Sciences): Mr. Zebidi spoke on the effects ofdesertification on surface water and groundwater systems and onwater availability and quality. He began with definitions ofdesertification and noted the fact that there are 6,100 millionhectares of arid lands, home to one-fifth of the world'spopulation, with Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Australia as theregions most affected. He focussed on the characteristics of theseareas. The first characteristic is that rainfall is limited andirregular, with the greatest variability of rainfall found in aridand semi-arid land. High sediment transport is a feature of surfaceflow, due to run-off fluctuations. Another characteristic is thatgroundwater is often found in these regions. The availability ofwater depends on the type of catchment system used. He noted theeffects of desertification on groundwater systems. He alsodiscussed surface run-off from flood waters and rain and thecollection of this water with dams. He concluded by noting thepotential for conflict over water resources in the event of droughtand the need for national policies to distribute scare waterresources. He also noted the possibilities of more violent flashfloods due to the soil's lower retention capacity to absorbirregular rainfall.

In the discussion, Egypt cited facts on total water availabilityand experiments in more aggressive means to find fresh water,including from icebergs and deeply seated aquifers. Germany noteda case in Argentina where an artificial dam created micro-climaticchange. Iran stated that there is a need to utilize traditionalmethods of scarce water development in arid and semi-arid areas.

UNEP (Dr. Norberto Fernandez, GRID Facility): Dr. Fernandezspoke about modern techniques for assessing the global environment,including satellite imagery, remote sensing and geographicinformation systems. He mentioned that sound management of theenvironment requires good assessment of situations, which, in turn,requires timely and reliable data and information. He explainedthat the transfer of data and information from the sectorialsources to the decision-making level is an on-going process. TheGlobal Resource Information Database (GRID) has helped to bridgethe gap between scientific understanding of earth processes andsound management of the environment.

He then explained the uses of geographic information systems (GIS)that can integrate data from different sources and add a spatialdimension, bringing flexibility into data analysis. Although GIScannot give the real answer to the problem of desertification, itcan help build hypotheses. He explained how the World Atlas ofDesertification is an important contribution to the understandingof this issue and provides information in a clear, concise,geographically-referenced format. It shows interactions betweensocio-economic and environmental factors and helps governments andpolicy-makers to assess the scope of the problem, examinealternatives and decide on a course of action. The discussion onthis presentation will take place on Tuesday.

DESERTIFICATION, DROUGHT AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Professor Robert Balling, Arizona State University, USA:Prof. Balling spoke about the inter-relationships between theglobal climate system, drought and desertification, including theimpact of desertification on climate change and global warming. Thefirst part of his presentation addressed what is known aboutclimate in the drylands. The major characteristic of drylandclimates is their unusual variability. Precipitation varies fromseason to season and year to year and consistent cycles are nottypically found in dryland rainfall data.

He then addressed the question of whether dryland droughts can bepredicted. Dryland precipitation levels are linked statistically tosea surface conditions, the impact of El Nio and southernoscillation events, general atmospheric circulation patterns, solarpatterns, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and hurricanes. At thispoint scientists understand what is driving the climate patterns indrylands and can predict the rainfall in seasons, if not in months.

Human activities have impacted the surface and atmosphere indrylands primarily by reducing vegetation cover through overgrazingand cultivation practices. He elaborated on the scientific debateon the relationship between a decrease in soil and vegetative coverand climate change. With regard to the greenhouse effect, hecommented that drylands are not major emitters of greenhouse gasesor major carbon sinks. Climate change is bad news for drylandswhere temperatures may increase by 2-5 degrees.

In the discussion that followed, Egypt commented on the role ofdrylands as a sink for greenhouse gases and the important issue ofdeserts as an emitter of particulates in the atmosphere. Hestressed the point that no one country alone can do early weatherforecasting that can predict drought. The UK mentioned the largeareas of uncertainty in the links between climate anddesertification. He added that the UK had commissioned a report onthis subject and that he would make it available to otherdelegates.

Professor A.M. Imevbore, Obaferni Awolowo University,Nigeria: Prof. Imevbore spoke about desertification as a threatto the conservation and utilization of biodiversity. He emphasizedthe need to redefine desertification. He pointed out thatdesertification can be defined by vegetation cover, short savanna,woodlands, and by impact of human activity such as logging, reducedavailability of water and reduction in woody biomass. He emphasizedthe importance of conserving biodiversity in the drylands and saidthat 64 out of 300 species of medicinal plants are located in thedrylands and that the few existing plant species in the drylandsserve multiple purposes. He also highlighted the importance of thetourism industry based on wildlife found in the drylands, such asKenya. He concluded that there is need to conserve biodiversity andunderlined the vast amount of research required to manage thedrylands efficiently. These include availability of remote-sensingdata for drought preparedness, strengthening of institutionalstructures for the management of wildlife, fauna and flora and thesearch for greater perenniality.

In the discussion that followed, Egypt emphasized that they shouldnot redefine terms but use the definitions provided in Agenda 21.He also emphasized the need to distinguish between desertificationand drought. The constraint of poverty in biodiversity conservationwas also raised.

UNESCO (Habib Zebidi, Programme Specialist in Hydrology,Division of Water Sciences): Mr. Zebidi spoke on the effects ofdesertification on surface water and groundwater systems and onwater availability and quality. He began with definitions ofdesertification and noted the fact that there are 6,100 millionhectares of arid lands, home to one-fifth of the world'spopulation, with Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Australia as theregions most affected. He focussed on the characteristics of theseareas. The first characteristic is that rainfall is limited andirregular, with the greatest variability of rainfall found in aridand semi-arid land. High sediment transport is a feature of surfaceflow, due to run-off fluctuations. Another characteristic is thatgroundwater is often found in these regions. The availability ofwater depends on the type of catchment system used. He noted theeffects of desertification on groundwater systems. He alsodiscussed surface run-off from flood waters and rain and thecollection of this water with dams. He concluded by noting thepotential for conflict over water resources in the event of droughtand the need for national policies to distribute scare waterresources. He also noted the possibilities of more violent flashfloods due to the soil's lower retention capacity to absorbirregular rainfall.

In the discussion, Egypt cited facts on total water availabilityand experiments in more aggressive means to find fresh water,including from icebergs and deeply seated aquifers. Germany noteda case in Argentina where an artificial dam created micro-climaticchange. Iran stated that there is a need to utilize traditionalmethods of scarce water development in arid and semi-arid areas.

UNEP (Dr. Norberto Fernandez, GRID Facility): Dr. Fernandezspoke about modern techniques for assessing the global environment,including satellite imagery, remote sensing and geographicinformation systems. He mentioned that sound management of theenvironment requires good assessment of situations, which, in turn,requires timely and reliable data and information. He explainedthat the transfer of data and information from the sectorialsources to the decision-making level is an on-going process. TheGlobal Resource Information Database (GRID) has helped to bridgethe gap between scientific understanding of earth processes andsound management of the environment.

He then explained the uses of geographic information systems (GIS)that can integrate data from different sources and add a spatialdimension, bringing flexibility into data analysis. Although GIScannot give the real answer to the problem of desertification, itcan help build hypotheses. He explained how the World Atlas ofDesertification is an important contribution to the understandingof this issue and provides information in a clear, concise,geographically-referenced format. It shows interactions betweensocio-economic and environmental factors and helps governments andpolicy-makers to assess the scope of the problem, examinealternatives and decide on a course of action. The discussion onthis presentation will take place on Tuesday.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

The following presentations will be made today:

UNEP: Dr. Norberto Fernandez, Manager of the GRID Facility,will continue with the discussion portion of his presentation,which was cut short yesterday afternoon.

FAO: Wim G. Sombroek, Director of the Land and WaterDevelopment Division, and El Hadji M. Sene, Chief of the ForestConservation and Widelands branch of the Forest Resource Division,are scheduled to speak on degradation of rainfed and irrigatedlands, pastoral lands and forest lands. HABITAT: JochanEigen, Coordinator of the Sustainable Cities Programme, and GrahamAlabaster, human settlements officer of the Research andDevelopment Division, will discuss HABITAT's "Urbanization and LandDegradation - A Draft Agenda." Their intervention will focus onthe relationship between urbanization and land degradation and, inparticular, the need to strengthen urban management capacity tocombat desertification.

IFAD: Nessim Ahmad, Resource Economist in the TechnicalAdvisory Division of the International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD), will probably focus on household livelihoodstrategies and how households cope with desertification over time.

WORLD BANK: Hassan M. Hassan, Senior EnvironmentalSpecialist of the Environmental Division of the World Bank, willspeak on the "Economic and Social Policies and Land Degradation inDryland Areas" and table a paper prepared by John English, formerPrincipal Economist in the Bank's Environmental Department. Lookfor this intervention to focus on: linkages between socio-economicpolicies and the management of drylands; the success of bothvillage and community-based solutions to combattingdesertification; and the necessity, in some smaller countries, touse regional approaches.

UNSO: Moustapha Soumare, Technical Advisor to UNSO, willfocus on challenges in the development and management of naturalresources with emphasis on the Sudano-Sahelian region.

OECD: Marilyn Yakowitz, Special Advisor to the OECD, willreport on financial resources trends, exploring what exists interms of data concerning financial resource flows towardscombatting desertification, especially official developmentfinance, costs and benefits of accumulating such data and its usesfor decision-making. Look for an analysis of the sectoral situationconcerning financial flows.

NGOS: Asia region: Dr. Vanaja Ramparad of Third WorldNetwork, India, will focus on degradation of highly-productivelands. Look for links between SAPs, GATT, and the Green revolutionand desertification. Africa region: Mamadou Lamine Thiam, ProgrammeOfficer, Forum of African Voluntary Development Organizations,Senegal will speak on the links between population growth,cash-crop farming and desertification. Latin American region: JuanPalao Iturregui, a socio-educator with Consejo Andino de ManejoEcologico, Peru, will speak about effects of the World Bank'sstructural adjustment policies as well as national politics on landdegradation.

PLENARY

The following presentations will be made today:

UNEP: Dr. Norberto Fernandez, Manager of the GRID Facility,will continue with the discussion portion of his presentation,which was cut short yesterday afternoon.

FAO: Wim G. Sombroek, Director of the Land and WaterDevelopment Division, and El Hadji M. Sene, Chief of the ForestConservation and Widelands branch of the Forest Resource Division,are scheduled to speak on degradation of rainfed and irrigatedlands, pastoral lands and forest lands. HABITAT: JochanEigen, Coordinator of the Sustainable Cities Programme, and GrahamAlabaster, human settlements officer of the Research andDevelopment Division, will discuss HABITAT's "Urbanization and LandDegradation - A Draft Agenda." Their intervention will focus onthe relationship between urbanization and land degradation and, inparticular, the need to strengthen urban management capacity tocombat desertification.

IFAD: Nessim Ahmad, Resource Economist in the TechnicalAdvisory Division of the International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD), will probably focus on household livelihoodstrategies and how households cope with desertification over time.

WORLD BANK: Hassan M. Hassan, Senior EnvironmentalSpecialist of the Environmental Division of the World Bank, willspeak on the "Economic and Social Policies and Land Degradation inDryland Areas" and table a paper prepared by John English, formerPrincipal Economist in the Bank's Environmental Department. Lookfor this intervention to focus on: linkages between socio-economicpolicies and the management of drylands; the success of bothvillage and community-based solutions to combattingdesertification; and the necessity, in some smaller countries, touse regional approaches.

UNSO: Moustapha Soumare, Technical Advisor to UNSO, willfocus on challenges in the development and management of naturalresources with emphasis on the Sudano-Sahelian region.

OECD: Marilyn Yakowitz, Special Advisor to the OECD, willreport on financial resources trends, exploring what exists interms of data concerning financial resource flows towardscombatting desertification, especially official developmentfinance, costs and benefits of accumulating such data and its usesfor decision-making. Look for an analysis of the sectoral situationconcerning financial flows.

NGOS: Asia region: Dr. Vanaja Ramparad of Third WorldNetwork, India, will focus on degradation of highly-productivelands. Look for links between SAPs, GATT, and the Green revolutionand desertification. Africa region: Mamadou Lamine Thiam, ProgrammeOfficer, Forum of African Voluntary Development Organizations,Senegal will speak on the links between population growth,cash-crop farming and desertification. Latin American region: JuanPalao Iturregui, a socio-educator with Consejo Andino de ManejoEcologico, Peru, will speak about effects of the World Bank'sstructural adjustment policies as well as national politics on landdegradation.