ENV/DEV/373

INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION TO MEET IN NEW YORK, 3-13 SEPTEMBER

The ninth session of the International Negotiating Committee (INCD) for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, will be held from 3 to 13 September at Headquarters. With the Convention expected to enter into force next year, the session will focus on preparations for the first Conference of the Parties, as specified by the Convention. The organization of scientific and technical cooperation, arrangements for the Permanent Secretariat and the "Global Mechanism" to promote the mobilization of financial resources will be given particular attention. (Under the Convention, the Conference of the Parties is to agree on an existing international institution to serve as Global Mechanism for the Convention. It would promote the mobilization of funding from all possible sources.)

The Committee will conduct much of its work through two working groups. Working Group One will take up the designation of a Permanent Secretariat and arrangements for its functioning; financial rules; and the identification of an organization to house the Global Mechanism. Working Group Two will take up the organization of scientific and technological cooperation; the rules of procedure of the Conference of the Parties; and procedures for communication of information and review of implementation. The session is also slated to review urgent action under way in Africa and interim action in other regions. The status of signature and ratification of the Convention and a review of the situation as regards extrabudgetary funds will also be discussed. For the first time, there will be panels and workshops on techniques for enhancing local participation and on strengthening the role of women in the implementation of the Convention. (See document A/AC.241/53 and A/AC.241/53C for the agenda and organization of work.)

Convention to Combat Desertification

Desertification threatens the livelihood of 900 million people in more than 100 countries. The interim secretariat of Convention to Combat

Desertification, located in Geneva, defines desertification as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities". Desertification of the African drylands is causing resource depletion and declining productivity.

The United Nations has estimated that overcultivation and overgrazing, combined with deforestation and poor irrigation, cost $42 billion a year in lost food production and other costs. Although Africa and Asia are the most affected regions, some 74 percent of the drylands in the United States are severely or moderately affected, and France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal have also experienced desertification.

The Convention, which was called for at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, builds upon that Conference's sustainable development paradigm to provide a balanced legal framework for increased international cooperation in combatting desertification. The Convention translates parts of Agenda 21 -- the blueprint for action adopted by UNCED -- into legal obligations.

The Convention is notable for a number of characteristics including that:

-- It gives priority to Africa, where the problem is most severe;

-- It uses a democratic, bottom-up approach, emphasizing popular participation and the creation of enabling environments for local people to help themselves reverse land degradation;

-- It takes a long-term approach that integrates the physical and biological dimensions of desertification with social and economic realities;

-- It contains precise commitments for the preparation by affected countries of national action programmes; and

-- It gives an unprecedented role to non-governmental organizations in the preparation and implementation of action programmes.

The Convention has been signed by 114 countries and the European Union. It will enter into force 90 days after 50 countries have ratified or acceded to it. At present, 39 countries have done so.

Negotiation of the Convention began in 1993. The Convention was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994. At that time, resolutions on urgent action for Africa and on other activities for the interim period before the Convention enters into force were also adopted.

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Documents before Ninth Session

Among the documents to be considered at the upcoming session is a report on the physical location of a permanent secretariat (document A/AC.241/54) which provides an outline of the categories of information which might be requested from countries interested in hosting the secretariat. Addenda 1, 2 and 3 of the report contain the offers of Canada, Germany and Spain to host the secretariat in Montreal, Bonn and Murcia respectively.

The administrative arrangements for a permanent secretariat are discussed in another report (document A/AC.241/55). It explains that at its eighth session, the INCD had invited members of the Committee to submit written comments related to the proposed administrative arrangements, and the INCD had requested relevant international organizations, United Nations departments and programmes, and United Nations agencies to apply to provide the necessary administrative support. Addenda 1, 2 and 3 contain the offers made by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in response to that request.

The functioning of the Global Mechanism and the criteria for selecting an institution to house it are examined in another report before the session (document A/AC.241/56) which presents a preliminary negotiating text on that subject. Annexes outline related comments from the African, Asian and Latin American and Caribbean groups as well as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), along with a brief compilation of comments made at the Committee's eighth session.

The Committee on Science and Technology will also report to the INCD. That Committee is a subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties. Its role is to provide the Conference with information and advice on scientific and technological matters relating to combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought. Document A/AC.241/57 contains draft decisions regarding terms of reference, the roster of independent experts and ad hoc panels for the Committee.

Draft procedures for communication and review of implementation will also be discussed. Under the Convention, States parties are required to communicate to the Conference of Parties reports on measures they have taken for the implementation of the Convention. In addition, the Conference is to regularly review the Convention's implementation, taking into account such matters as the experience gained at various governmental levels and the evolution of scientific and technological knowledge. The Conference of the Parties is to determine the procedures for the reports and reviews, as well as for promoting the exchange of information on measures adopted by the Parties.

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Document A/AC.241/49/Rev.1 contains a revised draft decision of the Conference of the Parties regarding those matters.

A revised version of the draft financial rules of the Conference of the Parties, its subsidiary bodies and permanent secretariat (document A/AC.241/45/Rev.1) will also be discussed as will a revised negotiating text of the rules of procedure for the Conference of the Parties (document A/AC.241/48/Rev.1).

The INCD session is also expected to have before it a review of the situation as regards extrabudgetary funds (document A/AC.241/59) as well as a list of non-governmental organizations recommended for accreditation (document A/AC.241/9/Add.12)

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