Objectives
 

                    The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is a major achievement of the international community. Stemming from the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the Convention is an innovative document, which breaks new ground in international environmental law.
 

                    The Convention describes its objective as "[t]o combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, through effective action at all levels, supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements in the framework of an integrated approach which is consistent with Agenda 21, with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in affected areas". Furthermore, the Convention adds that "[a]chieving this objective will involve long-term integrated strategies that focus simultaneously, in affected areas, on improved productivity of the land and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources, leading to improved living conditions, in particular, at the community level."
 

                Key Provisions
 

                    Both affected and developed Contracting Parties undertake comprehensive sets of obligations under the Convention. In accordance with the Convention, all Contracting Parties have an obligation to adopt an integrated approach addressing the physical, biological and socio-economic aspects of desertification and drought. In addition, affected Contracting Parties undertake to give priority to combatting desertification and mitigating the effects of drought by establishing strategies and priorities within the framework of sustainable development plans and policies. In turn, Contracting Parties from developed countries commit themselves to active support by providing substantial financial resources and other forms of assistance, individually or jointly, to the efforts of affected developing Contracting Parties.
 

                    The Convention is to be implemented through National Action Programmes supplemented by such programmes at regional and sub-regional levels. National Action Programmes form the very core of the Convention. The Contracting Parties should implement the Convention, taking into account the participation of populations and local communities in a spirit of partnership and international cooperation.
 

                    The Conference of the Parties (COP) is established as the supreme body of the Convention, whose main task is to make the decisions necessary to promote effective implementation of the Convention. The Convention also establishes a Permanent Secretariat which will, among other duties, make arrangements for sessions of the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies, and compile and transmit reports submitted to it. Scientific and technological information and advice will be provided by a Committee on Science and Technology.
 

                    Africa is given priority and particular attention throughout the Convention and the first of the four Regional Implementation Annexes, which form an integral part of the Convention, is devoted to the continent. There are three further Regional Implementation Annexes to the Convention (Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Northern Mediterranean) to provide guidelines and arrangements for the effective implementation of the Convention. All of the Annexes provide for action programmes to be part and parcel of their policies for sustainable development.
 
 
 

Entry into force:  26 December 1996 Status as at 15 June 2000:  Signatories:  115  Contracting Parties:  167