Agenda 21: Chapter 12
MANAGING FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS: COMBATING DESERTIFICATION
AND DROUGHT
12.1. Fragile ecosystems are important ecosystems, with unique features
and resources. Fragile ecosystems include deserts, semi-arid lands,
mountains, wetlands, small islands and certain coastal areas. Most of
these ecosystems are regional in scope, as they transcend national
boundaries. This chapter addresses land resource issues in deserts, as
well as arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. Sustainable mountain
development is addressed in chapter 13; small islands and coastal areas
are discussed in chapter 17.
12.2. Desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic
variations and human activities. Desertification affects about one sixth
of the world's population, 70 per cent of all drylands, amounting to 3.6
billion hectares, and one quarter of the total land area of the world. The
most obvious impact of desertification, in addition to widespread poverty,
is the degradation of 3.3 billion hectares of the total area of rangeland,
constituting 73 per cent of the rangeland with a low potential for human
and animal carrying capacity; decline in soil fertility and soil structure
on about 47 per cent of the dryland areas constituting marginal rainfed
cropland; and the degradation of irrigated cropland, amounting to 30 per
cent of the dryland areas with a high population density and agricultural
potential.
12.3. The priority in combating desertification should be the
implementation of preventive measures for lands that are not yet degraded,
or which are only slightly degraded. However, the severely degraded areas
should not be neglected. In combating desertification and drought, the
participation of local communities, rural organizations, national
Governments, non-governmental organizations and international and regional
organizations is essential.
12.4. The following programme areas are included in this chapter:
(a) Strengthening the knowledge base and developing information
and monitoring systems for regions prone to desertification and drought,
including the economic and social aspects of these ecosystems;
(b) Combating land degradation through, inter alia, intensified
soil conservation, afforestation and reforestation activities;
(c) Developing and strengthening integrated development
programmes for the eradication of poverty and promotion of alternative
livelihood systems in areas prone to desertification;
(d) Developing comprehensive anti-desertification programmes
and integrating them into national development plans and national
environmental planning;
(e) Developing comprehensive drought preparedness and
drought-relief schemes, including self-help arrangements, for
drought-prone areas and designing programmes to cope with environmental
refugees;
(f) Encouraging and promoting popular participation and
environmental education, focusing on desertification control and
management of the effects of drought.
PROGRAMME AREAS
A. Strengthening the knowledge base and developing
information and monitoring systems for regions prone to desertification
and drought, including the economic and social aspects of these ecosystems
Basis for action
12.5. The global assessments of the status and rate of desertification
conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1977, 1984
and 1991 have revealed insufficient basic knowledge of desertification
processes. Adequate world-wide systematic observation systems are helpful
for the development and implementation of effective anti-desertification
programmes. The capacity of existing international, regional and national
institutions, particularly in developing countries, to generate and
exchange relevant information is limited. An integrated and coordinated
information and systematic observation system based on appropriate
technology and embracing global, regional, national and local levels is
essential for understanding the dynamics of desertification and drought
processes. It is also important for developing adequate measures to deal
with desertification and drought and improving socio-economic conditions.
Objectives
12.6. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To promote the establishment and/or strengthening of
national environmental information coordination centres that will act as
focal points within Governments for sectoral ministries and provide the
necessary standardization and back-up services; to ensure also that
national environmental information systems on desertification and
drought are linked together through a network at subregional, regional
and interregional levels;
(b) To strengthen regional and global systematic observation
networks linked to the development of national systems for the
observation of land degradation and desertification caused both by
climate fluctuations and by human impact, and to identify priority areas
for action;
(c) To establish a permanent system at both national and
international levels for monitoring desertification and land degradation
with the aim of improving living conditions in the affected areas.
Activities
A) Management-related activities
12.7. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Establish and/or strengthen environmental information
systems at the national level;
(b) Strengthen national, state/provincial and local assessment and
ensure cooperation/networking between existing environmental information
and monitoring systems, such as Earthwatch and the Sahara and Sahel
Observatory;
(c) Strengthen the capacity of national institutions to analyse
environmental data so that ecological change can be monitored and
environmental information obtained on a continuing basis at the national
level.
B) Data and information
12.8. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Review and study the means for measuring the ecological,
economic and social consequences of desertification and land degradation
and introduce the results of these studies internationally into
desertification and land degradation assessment practices;
(b) Review and study the interactions between the socio-economic
impacts of climate, drought and desertification and utilize the results
of these studies to secure concrete action.
12.9. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Support the integrated data collection and research work of
programmes related to desertification and drought problems;
(b) Support national, regional and global programmes for
integrated data collection and research networks carrying out assessment
of soil and land degradation;
(c) Strengthen national and regional meteorological and
hydrological networks and monitoring systems to ensure adequate
collection of basic information and communication among national,
regional and international centres.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination
12.10. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Strengthen regional programmes and international
cooperation, such as the Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought
Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Intergovernmental Authority for
Drought and Development (IGADD), the Southern African Development
Coordination Conference (SADCC), the Arab Maghreb Union and other
regional organizations, as well as such organizations as the Sahara and
Sahel Observatory;
(b) Establish and/or develop a comprehensive desertification, land
degradation and human condition database component that incorporates
both physical and socio-economic parameters. This should be based on
existing and, where necessary, additional facilities, such as those of
Earthwatch and other information systems of international, regional and
national institutions strengthened for this purpose;
(c) Determine benchmarks and define indicators of progress that
facilitate the work of local and regional organizations in tracking
progress in the fight for anti-desertification. Particular attention
should be paid to indicators of local participation.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
12.11. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme
to be about $350 million, including about $175 million from the
international community on grant or concessional terms. These are
indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any
that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific
strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means
12.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations working on the issue of
desertification and drought, should:
(a) Undertake and update existing inventories of natural
resources, such as energy, water, soil, minerals, plant and animal
access to food, as well as other resources, such as housing, employment,
health, education and demographic distribution in time and space;
(b) Develop integrated information systems for environmental
monitoring, accounting and impact assessment;
(c) International bodies should cooperate with national
Governments to facilitate the acquisition and development of appropriate
technology for monitoring and combating drought and desertification.
C) Human resource development
12.13. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations working on the issue of
desertification and drought, should develop the technical and professional
skills of people engaged in monitoring and assessing the issue of
desertification and drought.
D) Capacity-building
12.14. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations working on the issue of
desertification and drought, should:
(a) Strengthen national and local institutions by providing
adequate staff equipment and finance for assessing desertification;
(b) Promote the involvement of the local population, particularly
women and youth, in the collection and utilization of environmental
information through education and awareness-building.
B. Combating land degradation through, inter alia,
intensified soil conservation, afforestation and reforestation activities
Basis for action
12.15. Desertification affects about 3.6 billion hectares, which is
about 70 per cent of the total area of the world's drylands or nearly one
quarter of the global land area. In combating desertification on
rangeland, rainfed cropland and irrigated land, preventative measures
should be launched in areas which are not yet affected or are only
slightly affected by desertification; corrective measures should be
implemented to sustain the productivity of moderately desertified land;
and rehabilitative measures should be taken to recover severely or very
severely desertified drylands.
12.16. An increasing vegetation cover would promote and stabilize the
hydrological balance in the dryland areas and maintain land quality and
land productivity. Prevention of not yet degraded land and application of
corrective measures and rehabilitation of moderate and severely degraded
drylands, including areas affected by sand dune movements, through the
introduction of environmentally sound, socially acceptable, fair and
economically feasible land-use systems. This will enhance the land
carrying capacity and maintenance of biotic resources in fragile
ecosystems.
Objectives
12.17. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) As regards areas not yet affected or only slightly affected
by desertification, to ensure appropriate management of existing natural
formations (including forests) for the conservation of biodiversity,
watershed protection, sustainability of their production and
agricultural development, and other purposes, with the full
participation of indigenous people;
(b) To rehabilitate moderately to severely desertified drylands
for productive utilization and sustain their productivity for
agropastoral/agroforestry development through, inter alia, soil and
water conservation;
(c) To increase the vegetation cover and support management of
biotic resources in regions affected or prone to desertification and
drought, notably through such activities as afforestation/reforestation,
agroforestry, community forestry and vegetation retention schemes;
(d) To improve management of forest resources, including
woodfuel, and to reduce woodfuel consumption through more efficient
utilization, conservation and the enhancement, development and use of
other sources of energy, including alternative sources of energy.
Activities
A) Management-related activities
12.18. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Implement urgent direct preventive measures in drylands
that are vulnerable but not yet affected, or only slightly desertified
drylands, by introducing (i) improved land-use policies and practices
for more sustainable land productivity; (ii) appropriate,
environmentally sound and economically feasible agricultural and
pastoral technologies; and (iii) improved management of soil and water
resources;
(b) Carry out accelerated afforestation and reforestation
programmes, using drought-resistant, fast-growing species, in particular
native ones, including legumes and other species, combined with
community-based agroforestry schemes. In this regard, creation of
large-scale reforestation and afforestation schemes, particularly
through the establishment of green belts, should be considered, bearing
in mind the multiple benefits of such measures;
(b) Implement urgent direct corrective measures in moderately
to severely desertified drylands, in addition to the measures listed in
paragraph 19 (a) above, with a view to restoring and sustaining their
productivity;
(c) Promote improved land/water/crop-management systems, making
it possible to combat salinization in existing irrigated croplands; and
to stabilize rainfed croplands and introduce improved
soil/crop-management systems into land-use practice;
(d) Promote participatory management of natural resources,
including rangeland, to meet both the needs of rural populations and
conservation purposes, based on innovative or adapted indigenous
technologies;
(e) Promote in situ protection and conservation of special
ecological areas through legislation and other means for the purpose of
combating desertification while ensuring the protection of biodiversity;
(f) Promote and encourage investment in forestry development in
drylands through various incentives, including legislative measures;
(g) Promote the development and use of sources of energy which
will lessen pressure on ligneous resources, including alternative
sources of energy and improved stoves.
B) Data and information
12.19. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Develop land-use models based on local practices for the
improvement of such practices, with a focus on preventing land
degradation. The models should give a better understanding of the
variety of natural and human-induced factors that may contribute to
desertification. Models should incorporate the interaction of both new
and traditional practices to prevent land degradation and reflect the
resilience of the whole ecological and social system;
(b) Develop, test and introduce, with due regard to environmental
security considerations, drought resistant, fast-growing and productive
plant species appropriate to the environment of the regions concerned.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination
12.20. The appropriate United Nations agencies, international and
regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and bilateral
agencies should:
(a) Coordinate their roles in combating land degradation and
promoting reforestation, agroforestry and land-management systems in
affected countries;
(b) Support regional and subregional activities in technology
development and dissemination, training and programme implementation to
arrest dryland degradation.
12.21. The national Governments concerned, the appropriate United
Nations agencies and bilateral agencies should strengthen the coordinating
role in dryland degradation of subregional intergovernmental organizations
set up to cover these activities, such as CILSS, IGADD, SADCC and the Arab
Maghreb Union.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
12.22. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme
to be about $6 billion, including about $3 billion from the international
community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and
order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by
Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non-concessional,
will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and programmes
Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means
12.23. Governments at the appropriate level and local communities, with
the support of the relevant international and regional organizations,
should:
(a) Integrate indigenous knowledge related to forests, forest
lands, rangeland and natural vegetation into research activities on
desertification and drought;
(b) Promote integrated research programmes on the protection,
restoration and conservation of water and land resources and land-use
management based on traditional approaches, where feasible.
C) Human resource development
12.24. Governments at the appropriate level and local communities, with
the support of the relevant international and regional organizations,
should:
(a) Establish mechanisms to ensure that land users,
particularly women, are the main actors in implementing improved land
use, including agroforestry systems, in combating land degradation;
(b) Promote efficient extension-service facilities in areas prone
to desertification and drought, particularly for training farmers and
pastoralists in the improved management of land and water resources in
drylands.
D) Capacity-building
12.25. Governments at the appropriate level and local communities, with
the support of the relevant international and regional organizations,
should:
(a) Develop and adopt, through appropriate national
legislation, and introduce institutionally, new and environmentally
sound development-oriented land-use policies;
(b) Support community-based people's organizations, especially
farmers and pastoralists.
C. Developing and strengthening integrated
development programmes for the eradication of poverty and promotion of
alternative livelihood systems in areas prone to desertification
Basis for action
12.26. In areas prone to desertification and drought, current
livelihood and resource-use systems are not able to maintain living
standards. In most of the arid and semi-arid areas, the traditional
livelihood systems based on agropastoral systems are often inadequate and
unsustainable, particularly in view of the effects of drought and
increasing demographic pressure. Poverty is a major factor in accelerating
the rate of degradation and desertification. Action is therefore needed to
rehabilitate and improve the agropastoral systems for sustainable
management of rangelands, as well as alternative livelihood systems.
Objectives
12.27. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To create the capacity of village communities and pastoral
groups to take charge of their development and the management of their
land resources on a socially equitable and ecologically sound basis;
(b) To improve production systems in order to achieve greater
productivity within approved programmes for conservation of national
resources and in the framework of an integrated approach to rural
development;
(c) To provide opportunities for alternative livelihoods as a
basis for reducing pressure on land resources while at the same time
providing additional sources of income, particularly for rural
populations, thereby improving their standard of living.
Activities
A) Management-related activities
12.28. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Adopt policies at the national level regarding a
decentralized approach to land-resource management, delegating
responsibility to rural organizations;
(b) Create or strengthen rural organizations in charge of village
and pastoral land management;
(c) Establish and develop local, national and intersectoral
mechanisms to handle environmental and developmental consequences of
land tenure expressed in terms of land use and land ownership.
Particular attention should be given to protecting the property rights
of women and pastoral and nomadic groups living in rural areas;
(c) Create or strengthen village associations focused on
economic activities of common pastoral interest (market gardening,
transformation of agricultural products, livestock, herding, etc.);
(d) Promote rural credit and mobilization of rural savings
through the establishment of rural banking systems;
(e) Develop infrastructure, as well as local production and
marketing capacity, by involving the local people to promote alternative
livelihood systems and alleviate poverty;
(f) Establish a revolving fund for credit to rural
entrepreneurs and local groups to facilitate the establishment of
cottage industries/business ventures and credit for input to
agropastoral activities.
B) Data and information
12.29. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Conduct socio-economic baseline studies in order to have a
good understanding of the situation in the programme area regarding,
particularly, resource and land tenure issues, traditional
land-management practices and characteristics of production systems;
(b) Conduct inventory of natural resources (soil, water and
vegetation) and their state of degradation, based primarily on the
knowledge of the local population (e.g., rapid rural appraisal);
(c) Disseminate information on technical packages adapted to
the social, economic and ecological conditions of each;
(d) Promote exchange and sharing of information concerning the
development of alternative livelihoods with other agro-ecological
regions.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination
12.30. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Promote cooperation and exchange of information among the
arid and semi-arid land research institutions concerning techniques and
technologies to improve land and labour productivity, as well as viable
production systems;
(b) Coordinate and harmonize the implementation of programmes and
projects funded by the international organization communities and
non-governmental organizations that are directed towards the alleviation
of poverty and promotion of an alternative livelihood system.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
12.31. The Conference secretariat has estimated the costs for this
programme area in chapter 3 (Combating poverty) and chapter 14 (Promoting
sustainable agriculture and rural development).
B) Scientific and technological means
12.32. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Undertake applied research in land use with the support of
local research institutions;
(b) Facilitate regular national, regional and interregional
communication on and exchange of information and experience between
extension officers and researchers;
(c) Support and encourage the introduction and use of technologies for
the generation of alternative sources of incomes.
C) Human resource development
12.33. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Train members of rural organizations in management skills and train
agropastoralists in such special techniques as soil and water
conservation, water harvesting, agroforestry and small-scale
irrigation;
(b) Train extension agents and officers in the participatory approach to
integrated land management.
D) Capacity-building
12.34. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should establish and
maintain mechanisms to ensure the integration into sectoral and national
development plans and programmes of strategies for poverty alleviation
among the inhabitants of lands prone to desertification.
D. Developing comprehensive anti-desertification
programmes and integrating them into national development plans and
national environmental planning
Basis for action
12.35. In a number of developing countries affected by desertification,
the natural resource base is the main resource upon which the development
process must rely. The social systems interacting with land resources make
the problem much more complex, requiring an integrated approach to the
planning and management of land resources. Action plans to combat
desertification and drought should include management aspects of the
environment and development, thus conforming with the approach of
integrating national development plans and national environmental action
plans.
Objectives
12.36. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To strengthen national institutional capabilities to develop
appropriate anti-desertification programmes and to integrate them into
national development planning;
(b) To develop and integrate strategic planning frameworks for the
development, protection and management of natural resources in dryland
areas into national development plans, including national plans to
combat desertification, and environmental action plans in countries
most prone to desertification;
(c) To initiate a long-term process for implementing and monitoring
strategies related to natural resources management;
(d) To strengthen regional and international cooperation for combating
desertification through, inter alia, the adoption of legal and other
instruments.
Activities
A) Management-related activities
12.37. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Establish or strengthen, national and local anti-desertification
authorities within government and local executive bodies, as well as
local committees/associations of land users, in all rural communities
affected, with a view to organizing working cooperation between all
actors concerned, from the grass-roots level (farmers and pastoralists)
to the higher levels of government;
(b) Develop national plans of action to combat desertification and as
appropriate, make them integral parts of national development plans
and national environmental action plans;
(c) Implement policies directed towards improving land use, managing
common lands appropriately, providing incentives to small farmers and
pastoralists, involving women and encouraging private investment in
the development of drylands;
(d) Ensure coordination among ministries and institutions working on
anti-desertification programmes at national and local levels.
B) Data and information
12.38. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should promote
information exchange and cooperation with respect to national planning and
programming among affected countries, inter alia, through networking.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination
12.39. The relevant international organizations, multilateral financial
institutions, non-governmental organizations and bilateral agencies should
strengthen their cooperation in assisting with the preparation of
desertification control programmes and their integration into national
planning strategies, with the establishment of national coordinating and
systematic observation mechanisms and with the regional and global
networking of these plans and mechanisms.
12.40. The General Assembly, at its forty-seventh session, should be
requested to establish, under the aegis of the General Assembly, an
intergovernmental negotiating committee for the elaboration of an
international convention to combat desertification in in those countries
experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in
Africa, with a view to finalizing such a convention by June 1994.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
12.41. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme
to be about $180 million, including about $90 million from the
international community on grant or concessional terms. These are
indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any
that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific
strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means
12.42. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Develop and introduce appropriate improved sustainable agricultural
and pastoral technologies that are socially and environmentally
acceptable and economically feasible;
(b) Undertake applied study on the integration of environmental and
developmental activities into national development plans.
C) Human resource development
12.43. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should undertake
nationwide major anti-desertification awareness/training campaigns within
countries affected through existing national mass media facilities,
educational networks and newly created or strengthened extension services.
This should ensure people's access to knowledge of desertification and
drought and to national plans of action to combat desertification.
D) Capacity-building
12.44. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should establish and
maintain mechanisms to ensure coordination of sectoral ministries and
institutions, including local-level institutions and appropriate
non-governmental organizations, in integrating anti-desertification
programmes into national development plans and national environmental
action plans.
E. Developing comprehensive drought preparedness and
drought-relief schemes, including self-help arrangements, for
drought-prone areas and designing programmes to cope with environmental
refugees
Basis for action
12.45. Drought, in differing degrees of frequency and severity, is a
recurring phenomenon throughout much of the developing world, especially
Africa. Apart from the human toll - an estimated 3 million people died in
the mid-1980s because of drought in sub-Saharan Africa - the economic
costs of drought-related disasters are also high in terms of lost
production, misused inputs and diversion of development resources.
12.46. Early-warning systems to forecast drought will make possible the
implementation of drought-preparedness schemes. Integrated packages at the
farm and watershed level, such as alternative cropping strategies, soil
and water conservation and promotion of water harvesting techniques, could
enhance the capacity of land to cope with drought and provide basic
necessities, thereby minimizing the number of environmental refugees and
the need for emergency drought relief. At the same time, contingency
arrangements for relief are needed for periods of acute scarcity.
Objectives
12.47. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To develop national strategies for drought preparedness in both the
short and long term, aimed at reducing the vulnerability of production
systems to drought;
(b) To strengthen the flow of early-warning information to decision
makers and land users to enable nations to implement strategies for
drought intervention;
(c) To develop and integrate drought-relief schemes and means of coping
with environmental refugees into national and regional development
planning.
Activities
A) Management-related activities
12.48. In drought-prone areas, Governments at the appropriate level,
with the support of the relevant international and regional organizations,
should:
(a) Design strategies to deal with national food deficiencies in periods
of production shortfall. These strategies should deal with issues of
storage and stocks, imports, port facilities, food storage, transport
and distribution;
(b) Improve national and regional capacity for agrometeorology and
contingency crop planning. Agrometeorology links the frequency,
content and regional coverage of weather forecasts with the
requirements of crop planning and agricultural extension;
(c) Prepare rural projects for providing short-term rural employment to
drought-affected households. The loss of income and entitlement to
food is a common source of distress in times of drought. Rural works
help to generate the income required to buy food for poor households;
(d) Establish contingency arrangements, where necessary, for food and
fodder distribution and water supply;
(e) Establish budgetary mechanisms for providing, at short notice,
resources for drought relief;
(f) Establish safety nets for the most vulnerable households.
B) Data and information
12.49. Governments of affected countries, at the appropriate level,
with the support of the relevant international and regional organizations,
should:
(a) Implement research on seasonal forecasts to improve contingency
planning and relief operations and allow preventive measures to be
taken at the farm level, such as the selection of appropriate
varieties and farming practices, in times of drought;
(b) Support applied research on ways of reducing water loss from soils,
on ways of increasing the water absorption capacities of soils and on
water harvesting techniques in drought-prone areas;
(c) Strengthen national early-warning systems, with particular emphasis
on the area of risk-mapping, remote-sensing, agrometeorological
modelling, integrated multidisciplinary crop-forecasting techniques
and computerized food supply/demand analysis.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination
12.50. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Establish a system of stand-by capacities in terms of foodstock,
logistical support, personnel and finance for a speedy international
response to drought-related emergencies;
(b) Support programmes of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on
agrohydrology and agrometeorology, the Programme of the Regional
Training Centre for Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology and
their Applications (AGRHYMET), drought-monitoring centres and the
African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD),
as well as the efforts of the Permanent Inter-State Committee on
Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and the Intergovernmental
Authority for Drought and Development (IGADD);
(b) Support FAO programmes and other programmes for the development of
national early-warning systems and food security assistance schemes;
(c) Strengthen and expand the scope of existing regional programmes and
the activities of appropriate United Nations organs and organizations,
such as the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the United
Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO) and the United Nations
Sudano-Sahelian Office as well as of non-governmental organizations,
aimed at mitigating the effects of drought and emergencies.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
12.51. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme
to be about $1.2 billion, including about $1.1 billion from the
international community on grant or concessional terms. These are
indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any
that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific
strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means
12.52. Governments at the appropriate level and drought-prone
communities, with the support of the relevant international and regional
organizations, should:
(a) Use traditional mechanisms to cope with hunger as a means of
channelling relief and development assistance;
(b) Strengthen and develop national, regional and local
interdisciplinary research and training capabilities for
drought-prevention strategies.
C) Human resource development
12.53. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Promote the training of decision makers and land users in the
effective utilization of information from early-warning systems;
(b) Strengthen research and national training capabilities to assess the
impact of drought and to develop methodologies to forecast drought.
D) Capacity-building
12.54. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Improve and maintain mechanisms with adequate staff, equipment and
finances for monitoring drought parameters to take preventive measures
at regional, national and local levels;
(b) Establish interministerial linkages and coordinating units for
drought monitoring, impact assessment and management of drought-relief
schemes.
F. Encouraging and promoting popular participation
and environmental education, focusing on desertification control and
management of the effects of drought
Basis for action
12.55. The experience to date on the successes and failures of
programmes and projects points to the need for popular support to sustain
activities related to desertification and drought control. But it is
necessary to go beyond the theoretical ideal of popular participation and
to focus on obtaining actual active popular involvement, rooted in the
concept of partnership. This implies the sharing of responsibilities and
the mutual involvement of all parties. In this context, this programme
area should be considered an essential supporting component of all
desertification-control and drought-related activities.
Objectives
12.56. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To develop and increase public awareness and knowledge concerning
desertification and drought, including the integration of
environmental education in the curriculum of primary and secondary
schools;
(b) To establish and promote true partnership between government
authorities, at both the national and local levels, other executing
agencies, non-governmental organizations and land users stricken by
drought and desertification, giving land users a responsible role in
the planning and execution processes in order to benefit fully from
development projects;
(c) To ensure that the partners understand one another's needs,
objectives and points of view by providing a variety of means such as
training, public awareness and open dialogue;
(d) To support local communities in their own efforts in combating
desertification, and to draw on the knowledge and experience of the
populations concerned, ensuring the full participation of women and
indigenous populations.
Activities
A) Management-related activities
12.57. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Adopt policies and establish administrative structures for more
decentralized decision-making and implementation;
(b) Establish and utilize mechanisms for the consultation and
involvement of land users and for enhancing capability at the
grass-roots level to identify and/or contribute to the identification
and planning of action;
(c) Define specific programme/project objectives in cooperation with
local communities; design local management plans to include such
measures of progress, thereby providing a means of altering project
design or changing management practices, as appropriate;
(d) Introduce legislative, institutional/organizational and financial
measures to secure user involvement and access to land resources;
(e) Establish and/or expand favourable conditions for the provision of
services, such as credit facilities and marketing outlets for rural
populations;
(f) Develop training programmes to increase the level of education and
participation of people, particularly women and indigenous groups,
through, inter alia, literacy and the development of technical skills;
(g) Create rural banking systems to facilitate access to credit for
rural populations, particularly women and indigenous groups, and to
promote rural savings;
(h) Adopt appropriate policies to stimulate private and public
investment.
B) Data and information
12.58. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of the
relevant international and regional organizations, should:
- Review, develop and disseminate gender-disaggregated information,
skills and know-how at all levels on ways of organizing and promoting
popular participation;
- Accelerate the development of technological know-how, focusing on
appropriate and intermediate technology;
- Disseminate knowledge about applied research results on soil and
water issues, appropriate species, agricultural techniques and
technological know-how.
C) International and regional cooperation and coordination
12.59. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Develop programmes of support to regional organizations such as
CILSS, IGADD, SADCC and the Arab Maghreb Union and other
intergovernmental organizations in Africa and other parts of the
world, to strengthen outreach programmes and increase the
participation of non-governmental organizations together with rural
populations;
(b) Develop mechanisms for facilitating cooperation in technology and
promote such cooperation as an element of all external assistance and
activities related to technical assistance projects in the public or
private sector;
(c) Promote collaboration among different actors in environment and
development programmes;
(d) Encourage the emergence of representative organizational structures
to foster and sustain interorganizational cooperation.
Means of implementation
A) Financing and cost evaluation
12.60. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total
annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme
to be about $1.0 billion, including about $500 million from the
international community on grant or concessional terms. These are
indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any
that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific
strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) Scientific and technological means
12.61. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should promote the
development of indigenous know-how and technology transfer.
C) Human resource development
12.62. Governments, at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should:
(a) Support and/or strengthen institutions involved in public education,
including the local media, schools and community groups;
(b) Increase the level of public education.
D) Capacity-building
12.63. Governments at the appropriate level, and with the support of
the relevant international and regional organizations, should promote
members of local rural organizations and train and appoint more extension
officers working at the local level.
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