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The Beijing International Conference on Combating Desertification, which was co-organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the State Forestry Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SFA), convened from 22-24 January 2008 in Beijing, China. The Conference was convened as an intersessional event in contribution to the 16th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16), which will address the issue of desertification, along with agriculture, land, drought, rural development, and Africa, in May 2008. The objective of the Conference was to provide opportunities for ministerial statements and panel discussions in thematic sessions and to guide and facilitate an in-depth review of barriers and constraints as well as policy options and practical measures in combating desertification. Sha Zukang, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Minister Francis Nhema, CSD 16 Chair, Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Anada Tiega, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Minister Jia Zhibang, State Forestry Administration of China, and ministers from other countries participated in the meeting. China’s Vice Premier Hui Liangyu addressed the opening ceremony of the Conference, which was attended by over 250 representatives from 60 countries and 18 UN organizations, as well as representatives from NGOs, regional and international organizations. Hui emphasized the need to: effectively implement the UNCCD and fulfill the commitments made under the Convention; formulate and implement national strategies to combat desertification and incorporate them into national plans for social and economic development; and change production and consumption patterns and follow the path of sustainable development.
Participants adopted a Beijing Statement on combating desertification. Based on Sha Zukang’s presentation during a press conference at its conclusion, Conference participants’ common understandings included: the need to strengthen the implementation of the Ten-year Strategic Plan and Framework adopted at UNCCD COP-8 as well as the coordination of implementation of the UNCCD, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity; forests play an important role in preventing and controlling land degradation and restoring degraded land; National Action Plans offer an effective tool in combating desertification and should be implemented in coordination among relevant government agencies, including central government agencies and local governments; multilateral and bilateral regional cooperation should be strengthened; partnerships and strategic alliances are critical instruments; and international development cooperation, including ODA, can play an important role in investing in addressing land degradation, while central and local governments should take effective measures to mobilize financial resources (IISD RS Sources).
Links to further information
Meeting website
Beijing Statement
Participants adopted a Beijing Statement on combating desertification. Based on Sha Zukang’s presentation during a press conference at its conclusion, Conference participants’ common understandings included: the need to strengthen the implementation of the Ten-year Strategic Plan and Framework adopted at UNCCD COP-8 as well as the coordination of implementation of the UNCCD, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity; forests play an important role in preventing and controlling land degradation and restoring degraded land; National Action Plans offer an effective tool in combating desertification and should be implemented in coordination among relevant government agencies, including central government agencies and local governments; multilateral and bilateral regional cooperation should be strengthened; partnerships and strategic alliances are critical instruments; and international development cooperation, including ODA, can play an important role in investing in addressing land degradation, while central and local governments should take effective measures to mobilize financial resources (IISD RS Sources).
Links to further information
Meeting website
Beijing Statement
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DESERTIFICATION 