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Africa: World Bank Calls for Greater Action Against Desertification

Leadership (Abuja)

14 September 2007
Pamela Sombo

The World Bank yesterday called for sustained and collective action by the international community to address land degradation and desertification, but that for these efforts to bear sustainable results, action must be guided and defined at the country level. “While desertification must be fought at all levels, it is clear that the battle must ultimately be won at the local level,” said Warren Evans, director for Environment, World Bank, in his statement to the Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), taking place this week in Madrid, Spain. “And there is clear evidence that with sustained local commitment, success is possible.”

The World Bank views sustainable land management as a high priority poverty reduction and development instrument at local, national, regional, and global levels.

The Bank has been involved in projects in numerous countries with a focus on poverty reduction and combating desertification and land degradation and managing the effects of drought. Between fiscal years 2001 and 2006, the Bank committed US $1.4 billion for projects in natural resources management, with US $701 million specifically aimed at sustainable land management. In addition, within the same period of time, the World Bank implemented Global Environment Facility (GEF) sustainable land management projects amounting to US $202 million, which represents a leveraging ratio of 1:4 (for every $1 GEF invested, the World Bank co-financed by a factor of $4).

Beyond specific investments, the Bank states that it is vital that combating desertification and promoting sustainable land management are mainstreamed and handled as ongoing development issues through country strategies and development frameworks rather than as stand-alone activities.

“Many countries face the challenge of multiple donors and agencies attempting to reduce desertification and land degradation,” said Evans. “Coordination of these efforts, agencies, and organisations is important for effective and efficient use of financial and environmental resources, strengthening of institutional capacity, and delivering long-term benefits.”

The World Bank is also calling upon and helping member countries to expand into niche areas that can benefit the implementation of the UNCCD.

Land rehabilitation measures can contribute to climate change management while tapping the carbon market. The Bank’s Carbon Finance Programme has demonstrated the potential of market-based public/private initiatives to invest significantly in sustainable land management interventions that provide measurable local and global benefits.

Adaptation to climate variability and change provides an opportunity to reduce land degradation. Climate variability and change can and does exacerbate land degradation.

“Many countries,” said Evans, “especially in Africa and particularly the poorest communities living in coastal areas and drylands are most vulnerable to extreme weather events such as droughts, sea level rise, floods, and heat waves. The risks to development are greater in these poorer countries and the ability to adapt smaller. While the effects of droughts are exacerbated by armed conflicts and the pre-existence of major diseases, increased water stress will put further pressure on these triggers.”

The Bank is actively implementing and advocating a risk management approach with an initial emphasis on minimising the risk to development and human livelihood posed by present climatic extremes.

Added Evans, “the current global focus on climate change and the availability of additional funds for adaptation provide an opportunity to improve the strategies and action plans for more coordinated effort at the national level on sustainable development and the reduction of desertification and land degradation. The World Bank is calling on partner countries to embrace this opportunity.”

Droughts, floods, and other weather-related disasters are projected to increase due to climate change. While much work on climate change has focused on mitigation, the Bank emphasises that there is an urgent need to balance the approach with a strong focus on adaptation.

“Therefore,” said Evans, “a broader approach is needed to tackle the challenges linked to climate change, through a country-responsive strategy that prioritises adaptation via mainstream low-carbon growth development programmes in land management, agriculture, energy, water management, and forestry.”

Raising additional resources for sustainable land management and climate change adaptation is crucial. Evans emphasised that there is a current financing gap that needs to be closed to enable affected countries respond to the effects of desertification and climate change so as to be able to systematically integrate adaptation issues into their policies and development programmes.

Said Evans, “the World Bank’s Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF) seeks to accelerate access to reliable energy services, promote low-carbon growth, and implement concrete measures to adapt to climate change and strengthen climate risk management capacities. This framework provides an entry point to scale up financial support and in collaboration with private sector financing, for example, through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), for the development and sharing of low carbon technology and energy efficiency in affected countries.”