ENB @ CCD COP-5

The fifth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) for the Convention to Combat Desertification

Geneva, Switzerland, 1-12 October 2001

Version française: BNT

Tuesday, 8 October 2001
Delegates met for a second day in the High Level Special Segment which included a morning session dedicated to an interactive dialogue on the nexus between poverty and the environment, and an afternoon session of general statements by country representatives and other participants

President Charles Basset informed delegates that this session would address the "poverty-environment nexus," and asked them to share experiences in best practice and indicate priority actions for governments and donor countries

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Roy Nicolas-Fanourakis, Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Swaziland, said financing is needed to address land tenure

	Max Kitchell, First Assistant Secretary, Natural Heritage Division, Australia, reported on its National Land Care Programme that focuses on community ownership
Murat Musataev, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Kazakhstan, highlighted linkages with other multilateral environmental agreements Listen to the RealAudio

Reynold Murray, Ministry of Health and Environment, St. Vincent and The Grenadines underscored the challenges of mitigating population pressures

Noah Katana Ngala, Minister for the Environment, Kenya, expressed concern at lack of progress combating desertification and reported on its efforts at NAP implementation Hien Fidele, Minister of Environment and Water, Burkina Faso, highlighted factors undermining NAP prioritization, inter alia, the debt problem

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Jose Antonio Rodriguez Oruna, Cuba, highlighted its NAP implementation, including 18 national projects for reforestation, erosion prevention, advanced irrigation and drainage technology, and drinking water aqueducts

Mohamed Said Kabir, Minister of Environment, Nigeria noted the failure of the CCD to obtain sustained funding and its impact on NAP implementation. He reported on a 1500km "green belt" established to ward off desert encroachment

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Mohammad Samadi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Iran, offered to share its experience on sustainable management of rangelands, particularly sand dune fixation

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Belgacem Henchi, Vice-Minister of Environment, Tunisia, outlined its ongoing cooperation with the GM and the OSS, and successful efforts at fund mobilization and development of indicators to track NAP implementation

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B.T. Koshmatov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Processing, Kyrgyzstan, highlighted its efforts to implement the Convention, including projects to develop mountain areas and promotion of eco-tourism through the designation of 2001 as the Year of Tourism

Ambassador Dan Nielsen, Denmark, pledged to continue support within the GEF Council for opening a financing window for desertification, and announced the allocation of an additional 0.5% of GDP for "environment, peace and stability" initiatives. He noted that Denmark will be presiding over the EU during the WSSD

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	ENB Coverage of previous CCD meetings Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification Fifth Session of the COP website Provisional Agenda Provisional list of Official Documents Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group to COP5 Official Documents of COP4
© 2001, Earth Negotiations Bulletin. All rights reserved.