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Article 24 of the Convention established a Committee on Science and Technology (CST) with a mandate to provide the Parties with information and advice on scientific and technological aspects of combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought. The CST has worked in priority fields including: desertification assessment and monitoring; benchmarks and indicators; early warning systems; rehabilitation of degraded land; and traditional knowledge.
The GM is increasing its support to the CST through its Financial Information Engine on Land Degradation (FIELD) and through information on and proposals for research in finance for development, institution-building and governance, and sectors influencing the implementation of the Convention such as trade and market access of rural communities and households.
The UNCCD from the GM's viewpoint
Land degradation and desertification threaten the livelihoods of over 1 billion people in more than 110 countries - the UNCCD is therefore a global response to this shared problem.
The Convention was established as a result of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992 and is the first international treaty to recognize the linkages between poverty and environmental degradation and to emphasize the need for an integrated approach to natural resource management and rural development.
The UNCCD is therefore interpreted as a Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) with specific contributions to make to overarching development frameworks such as poverty reduction strategies.
192 countries are currently Parties to the Convention.
This has a major impact on the GM’s resource mobilization efforts and its operations at country level, since the term “desertification” has broader connotations than those defined in the text of the Convention, depending on the geographical and ecological location of a given country and the role land management plays in rural development and poverty reduction in the context in question.
The Convention defines “desertification” as the degradation of soils or more broadly, as the degradation of natural resources, namely: land, vegetation and water.
Country Parties therefore often have difficulty positioning the Convention in national policy and development programming processes. Consequently, the UNCCD and its implementation are often not viewed as a national priority, particularly in countries where drylands are non-existent or where only small parts of the country fall under the Convention’s definition of drylands.
Country Parties therefore often have difficulty positioning the Convention in national policy and development programming processes. Consequently, the UNCCD and its implementation are often not viewed as a national priority, particularly in countries where drylands are non-existent or where only small parts of the country fall under the Convention’s definition of drylands.
The recently adopted ten-year strategy for the UNCCD (Decision 3/COP.8), elaborated by the Intersessional Intergovernmental Working Group (IIWG), addresses the role of the Convention in the various geographical and ecological areas and the approach to its implementation, in line with the clear goals and objectives stated in its text, with a “view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in affected areas” (Article 2).
The UNCCD’s contribution to the overall setting of development priorities, to development programming and to achieving global objectives such as the Millennium Development Goals, is determined by its ability to integrate UNCCD implementation into these frameworks at country level.
The UNCCD is not considered to be a freestanding convention since its existence depends upon the identification of the specialized contribution it can make at national level to effective resource mobilization for rural development and sustainable natural resource management and the acknowledgement of this contribution in national development programming.
This means that more weight needs to be given to a conducive policy environment, legislative reform, governance issues and institution building, thereby supporting country Parties in mainstreaming UNCCD concerns into the development agenda and making the UNCCD a more effective tool.
This means that more weight needs to be given to a conducive policy environment, legislative reform, governance issues and institution building, thereby supporting country Parties in mainstreaming UNCCD concerns into the development agenda and making the UNCCD a more effective tool.
The bodies of the UNCCD
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme body of the Convention, with the mandate to take the decisions necessary to promote its effective implementation (Article 22).In accordance with Decision 24/COP. 1, the GM functions under the authority and guidance of the Conference of the Parties and reports to each session of the Conference on its operations and activities, including:
- an evaluation of its effectiveness in promoting the mobilisation and channelling of the substantial financial resources to affected developing country Parties;
- an assessment of future availability of finance for Convention implementation; and
- proposals on effective ways and means of accessing available resources.
The first five sessions of COP were held annually from 1997-2001. Since 2002, COP sessions are held every two years and the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) is being held between COPs.
The UNCCD has a permanent Secretariat, with which the GM cooperates fully in implementing its mandate. Based on its country-level experiences, the GM is increasing its support to the Secretariat in terms of servicing CRICs and COPs, by promoting policy dialogue, strategy development and effective reporting on UNCCD implementation.
The GM is increasing its support to the CST through its Financial Information Engine on Land Degradation (FIELD) and through information on and proposals for research in finance for development, institution-building and governance, and sectors influencing the implementation of the Convention such as trade and market access of rural communities and households.
Related Documents
Text of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)Related Links
Read more about the 10-year Strategic Plan and Framework for the UNCCD