LETS NOW BE OPEN AND CRITICAL ABOUT THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS
17 June 2011 – The estimated two billion people living in the world’s arid lands are among those most vulnerable to hunger and climate change, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon warned today, calling for sustainable development to ensure
those areas are productive enough to support their populations.
“The management, conservation and sustainable development of dry
forests are central to combating desertification,” Mr. Ban said in a
message marking World Day to Combat Desertification, which is celebrated
on 17 June.
He emphasized that degraded land can be made productive through sustainable practices.
The UN General Assembly designated 2011 as the International Year
of Forests to bring attention to the value of forests and the social,
economic and environmental costs of their loss. The theme of this year’s
World Day to Combat Desertification is “Forests keep drylands working.”
In his message, Mr. Ban advocated for investment in drylands for the betterment of local communities.
“Too often, investing in drylands has been seen as unproductive
or risky, instead of a necessary avenue for improving the well-being of
local communities and national economies,” he said.
Through the upcoming events of the General Assembly’s high-level
meeting on desertification, land degradation and drought in September
and the Rio+20 UN
Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, the
Secretary-General urged governments and their partners to “bring greater
focus to the quest for solutions to this urgent challenge of
sustainable development.”
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner noted the importance of forests for the livelihood of the residents of the world’s drylands.
“The analysis indicates that investing an additional $40 billion a
year in the forestry sector could halve deforestation rates by 2030,
increase rates of tree planting by around 140 per cent by 2050 and
catalyze the creation of millions of new jobs” stated Mr. Steiner.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is
recognizing this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification with an
environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) in Spain through a
ceremony to designate the soccer star Carlos Marchena as a Drylands
Ambassador of the UNCCD.
In recognition of the Day, Lesotho is celebrating a successful
tree-planting effort and revival of previously degraded land in Leribe
district. In Senegal, activities include a tree planting ceremony, while
events are also being staged in Egypt, Argentina, the Republic of
Korea, Iran and Benin.
The Day, first observed in 1995, is designed to serve as a
reminder that desertification is a problem that can be addressed through
community participation and cooperation.
Visit- http://www.britannica.com Posted by Phillip Wangwe 2012
