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On Monday morning, 9 March 2015, Chair Uriel Safriel (Israel) opened the fourth special session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST S-4) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), noting that combining a scientific conference with a meeting of policy-making country representatives is unique to the UNCCD process, and expressing high expectations for the forthcoming recommendations. Three opening speakers – Roberto Borge Angulo, Governor of the State of Quintana Roo, Jorge Rescala Perez, General Director of the Mexican National Forestry Commission, and UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut – welcomed participants and drew attention to some of the challenges presented by desertification, land degradation and drought. They highlighted that 5 million people are affected annually by drought, food demand is expected to increase by 60% by 2050, 75% of poorest people live in rural areas and are fully dependent on land, 2.5 billion people live on small farms and depend entirely on agriculture for survival, and 12 million hectares of land are lost annually due to land degradation, compounded by a 2% decline in agriculture as a result of climate change.
Following a short break, participants reconvened as the UNCCD 3rd Scientific Conference. The Conference is convening from 9-12 March, and focusing on the theme, “Combating desertification/land degradation and drought for poverty reduction and sustainable development: the contribution of science, technology, traditional knowledge and practices.” On the first day of the Scientific Conference, participants engaged in its theme through keynote speeches, poster presentations and workshops on themes addressed in the research presented in the posters. Participants continued their discussions during an evening reception, hosted by the Government of Mexico. The Scientific Conference will continue from Tuesday to Thursday, following which the CST S-4 will reconvene to consider the outcomes from the four-day meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
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