IN MY DESERTIFICATION LIBRARY: BOOK NR. 34

 

Protecting Our Planet – Securing Our Future (1998)

Posted by Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM

Ghent University – Belgium

Having participated in all the meetings of the INCD (1992-1994) and all the meetings of the UNCCD-COP, the CST and the CRIC in 1994-2006, I had an opportunity to collect a lot of interesting books and publications on drought and desertification published in that period.

Book Nr. 34

Please click: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14m-zW_LVv5tsGGgllrmPlXU4SCbl9bQhEfDk6KHWiLw/edit?usp=sharing

or see protecting-our-planet-securing-our-future-1998

IN MY DESERTIFICATION LIBRARY : Book Nr. 05

 

DRYLANDS, POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT

Posted by Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem (Ghent University – Belgium)

Having participated in all the meetings of the INCD (1992-1994) and all the meetings of the UNCCD-COP, the CST and the CRIC  in 1994-2006, I was able to collect a lot of interesting books on drought and desertification published in that period.

Book Nr. 05

Please click: DRYLANDS, POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT

Let’s manage our land better

 

Photo credit: The World Bank

Every year, we lose 24 billion tons of fertile soil to erosion and 12 million hectares of land to desertification and drought.  This threatens the lives and livelihoods of 1.5 billion people now.

To fight desertification, let’s manage our land better

SUBMITTED BY ADEMOLA BRAIMOH

In the future, desertification could displace up to 135 million people by 2045. Land degradation could also reduce global food production by up to 12% and push world food prices up by 30%. In Egypt, Ghana, Central African Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Paraguay, land degradation could cause an annual GDP loss of up to 7%.

Pressure on land resources is expected to increase as populations grow, socio-economic development happens and the climate changes. A growing population will demand more food, which means that unsuitable or especially biodiverse land will be claimed for farming and be more vulnerable to degradation. Increased fertilizer and pesticide use related to agriculture will increase nutrient loading in soils, causing eutrophication and declines in fertility over time. Climate change will also aggravate land degradation—especially in drylands, which occupy 40% of global land area, and are inhabited by some 2 billion people. Urban areas, which are located in the world’s highly fertile areas, could grow to account for more than 5% of global land by mid-century.

Unless we manage our land better, every person will rely on just .11 hectares of land for their food; down from .45 hectares in 1960.

So how do we manage land better?

It will all come down to what we do with our soil, which is the most significant natural capital for ensuring food, water, and energy security while adapting and building resilience to climate change and shocks. The soil’s nutrient cycling provides the largest contribution (51%) of the total value (USD33 trillion) of all ‘ecosystem services’ provided each year. But soil’s important function is often forgotten as the missing link in our pursuit of sustainable development.

We must invest in applicable solutions that are transformative, and can be scaled up. Climate-smart agriculture is an alternative approach to managing land sustainably whilst increasing agricultural productivity. It includes land management options that sequester carbon and enhance resilience to climate change. Proven climate-smart practices such as agroforestry, integrated soil fertility management, conservation agriculture, and improved irrigation can ensure that land is used optimally, restored and managed in a manner that maximizes ecological, economic and social benefits.

Read the full article: The World Bank

World Day to Combat Desertification

Photo credit: Google – Imgres.jpg

 

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

World Day to Combat Desertification to be held on 17 June 

“Let us find long‐term solutions, not just quick fixes, to disasters that are
destroying communities,” urged Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.(See PRESS RELEASE below).

COMMENTS

Willem Van Cotthem: We keep hoping that success stories and best practices will be applied at the global level. Priority should be given to methods and techniques providing daily fresh food to the hungry and malnourished. It cannot be denied that hunger and malnutrition are constantly undermining the performances of people. Application of existing success stories in local food production (kitchen gardens, school gardens, hospital gardens, …) would positively influence the efforts to combat desertification (limiting erosion, stimulating reforestation, etc.). We keep hoping.

Reply: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification “Hi Willem Van Cotthem, would you like to share some success stories you have? We always welcome all to share!”

       Reply: Willem Van Cotthem : Hello Friends at the UNCCD Secretariat: It will be my pleasure to select a series of success stories in the literature. However, I am convinced that the UNCCD secretariat has the necessary documentation to compile even a book on this subject (to the best of my knowledge the documents, e.g. presentations at COPs and meetings of CST and CRIC, have been there during my active period in the CST and in Bonn). Please consider a consultancy to achieve top class work that would serve all member countries, the CST and the CRIC. To be presented at the next World Day June 17th 2016.

PRESS RELEASE

UNCCD’s Monique Barbut Calls for Long‐Term Solutions Not Just Quick Fixes To Drought Bonn, Germany, 22/02/2016 –

“Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People. This is the slogan for this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification to be held on 17 June. I am calling for solidarity from the international community with the people who are battling the ravages of drought and flood. Let us find long‐term solutions, not just quick fixes, to disasters that are destroying communities,” urged Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The droughts and floods beating down on communities in many parts of the world are linked to the current El Niño, which is expected to affect up 60 million people by July. In some areas, including in North Eastern Brazil, Somali, Ethiopia, Kenya and Namibia, the El Niño effects are coming on the back of years of severe and recurrent droughts. It is impossible for households that rely on the land for food and farm labor to recover, especially when the land is degraded.

What’s more, these conditions do not just devastate families and destabilize communities. When they are not attended to urgently, they can become a push factor for migration, and end with gross human rights abuses and long‐term security threats.

“We have seen this before – in Darfur following four decades of droughts and desertification and, more recently, in Syria, following the long drought of 2007‐2010. It is tragic to see a society breaking down when we can reduce the vulnerability of communities through simple and affordable acts such as restoring the degraded lands they live on, and helping countries to set up better systems for drought early warning and to prepare for and manage drought and floods,” Barbut said.

Ms Barbut made the remarks when announcing the plans for this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification, which will take place on 17 June.

“I hope that World Day to Combat Desertification this year marks a turning point for every country. We need to show, through practical action and cooperation, how every country is tacking or supporting these challenges at the front‐end to preempt or minimize the potential impacts of the disasters, not just at the back‐end after the disasters happen,” she stated.

The United Nations General Assembly designated 17 June as the observance Day to raise public awareness about international efforts to combat desertification and the effects of drought.

Ms Barbut thanked the Government and People of China, for offering to host the global observance event, which will take place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

“China has vast experience in nursing degraded lands and man‐made deserts back to health. This knowledge can and should benefit initiatives such as Africa’s Great Green Wall, the re‐ greening in southern Africa and the 20 X 20 Initiative in Latin America. We can create a better, more equal and climate change‐resilient world,” she noted.

“I also call on countries, the private sector, foundations and people of goodwill to support Africa  when the countries meet later in the year to develop concrete plans and policies to pre‐ empt, monitor and manage droughts,” Ms Barbut stated.

The 2016 World Day campaign is also advancing the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September last year. The Goals include a target to achieve a land degradation‐neutral world by 2030. That is, a world where the land restored back to health equals to, or is more than, the amount degraded every year.

For more information on the Day and previous events, visit: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event‐and‐campaigns/WDCD/Pages/default.aspx

For background information and materials for the 2016 Observance, visit: For information about the Global Observance event, visit: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event‐and‐ campaigns/WDCD/wdcd2016/Pages/default.aspx

Contact for World Day to Combat Desertification: Yhori@unccd.int

For Media information: wwischnewski@unccd.int

The 17 SDGs could transform Africa

Photo credit: SciDevNet

Copyright: Jan Banning/Panos

Why SDGs could transform Africa

by

Alberto Leny

Speed read

• The World Bank says 75 per cent of the poorest nations are in Sub-Saharan Africa
• The17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) could transform the continent
• But this can happen mainly through embracing and financing the SDGs

Embracing and financing the sustainable development goals could help Africa develop, writes Alberto Leny.

Africa is in the limelight as the world ushers in the post-2015 development agenda.

The World Bank statistics indicate that 75 per cent of the world’s poorest countries are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, including ten with the highest proportion of residents living in extreme poverty. [1]

World leaders passed a resolution to adopt the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development last year (25 September) at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States [2]. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has succeeded the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), could mark a turning point for Africa.

SDGs aim to end extreme poverty, hunger and inequality, tackle climate change and build resilient infrastructure to meet Africa’s urgent priorities — economic growth, achieving access to safe drinking water and energy, and investments in agriculture.

Read the full article: SciDevNet

MDG 1 “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” and its 3 targets

 

MDG 1: Uneven progress in reducing extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition

SUBMITTED BY JUAN FENG

This is the first in a series of posts on data related the Millennium Development Goals based on the 2015 Edition of World Development Indicators.

Millennium Development Goal 1 is to “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” and is assosciated with three targets to: a) Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day; b) Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all; and to c) Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

The latest estimates show that the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 43.6 percent in 1990 to 17.0 percent in 2011. Forecasts based on country-specific growth rates in the past 10 years indicate that the extreme poverty rate will fall to 13.4 percent by 2015, a drop of more than two-thirds from the 1990 baseline.

The number of people worldwide living on less than $1.25 a day is also forecast to be halved by 2015 from its 1990 level. Between 1990 and 2011 the number of extremely poor people fell from 1.9 billion to 1 billion, and according to forecasts, another 175 million people will be lifted out of extreme poverty by 2015.

This means that based on current trends, nearly half of developing countries have already achieved the Millennium Development Goal 1 (MDG1) target of halving the proportion of the population in extreme poverty five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.

Read the full article: World Bank

Irreversible groundwater depletion

Photo credit: FAO

A Senegalese farmer transfers well water into a holding container.

Global agencies call for urgent action to avoid irreversible groundwater depletion

New vision and global framework for action on groundwater governance released

EXCERPT

FAO, UNESCO, the World Bank, GEF and the International Association of Hydrogeologists have today called for action by the global community to manage the increasingly urgent depletion and degradation of limited groundwater resources.

—

Groundwater is indispensable to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. It accounts for more than a third of municipal and industrial supply and services some 40 percent of the planet’s irrigated agriculture. Groundwater has the potential to provide an improved source of drinking water for millions of urban and rural poor people. Many poor farmers and their families depend on it to irrigate their crops and sustain their livelihoods.

The 2030 Vision and Framework for Action provides an enabling framework and guiding principles for coordinated action among governments and organizations.

“Sustainable management of groundwater is key to maintaining ecosystems and adapting to climate change,” said Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). “We can no longer take this invisible but vital source for granted; urgent action is needed to ensure its long term availability. We look forward to joining hands with partner agencies and countries to ensure water for drinking, food, cities, energy and industrial uses is available for generations to come.”

In response to the urgency of the situation and a product of four years of consultations with stakeholders from more than 100 countries, these principles focus on legal and institutional frameworks, policies, and plans as well as information and incentive structures for sound and effective groundwater management.

This process signals strengthened collaboration across the international community to understand the barriers to better groundwater governance and address key regional challenges.

Read the full article: FAO

Reducing hunger and poverty: specific constraints to reform

Photo credit: Google

Integrating political economy analysis into Food Security research

by Danielle Resnick

Source: Flickr (M. Mitchell/IFPRI)

From left: Colin Poulton, Laura Pavlovic, Verena Fritz, and Danielle Resnick

 

Why are seemingly optimal investments and policies for reducing hunger and poverty so difficult to achieve in practice? Although scarce empirical research or insufficient technical capacity may be partially responsible, a lack of political incentives by those with the power to make decisions is often a key reason why it is so difficult to bridge the gap from research to policy reform. At a recent IFPRI policy seminar, speakers representing the research and donor communities discussed the importance of looking at ways to reduce hunger and poverty through this political economy lens.

The donor community has taken a leading role in this type of analysis. In the 1990s, donors began giving greater weight to the importance of “good governance” and gradually recognized that governance was not just an important outcome on its own but played a leading role in the overarching policy process.

By the early 2000s, a few donors began launching political economy analysis, including the UK Department for International Development’s “Drivers of Change” work, the Swedish International Development Agency’s “Power Analysis,” the Netherlands’ “Strategic Governance and Corruption Analysis,” and the US Agency for International Development’s “Democracy and Governance Assessments.” These early approaches were aimed at mainstreaming political thinking within donor agencies and providing contextualized analysis of the countries in which they were working.

More recently donors have moved towards a more practical approach, focusing on specific constraints to reform at the sector and project levels. The World Bank’s problem-driven analysis, which emerged during the past decade, is typical of this approach.

Read the full article: IFPRI

Speeding urgently needed seeds of major food crops to communities in West Africa

Photo credit: UN News Centre

Photo: FAO

Ebola: World Bank will provide seeds to farmers in West Africa to ward off hunger

EXCERPT

The World Bank Group announced today that it has mobilized some $15 million in emergency financing to provide a record 10,500 tons of maize and rice seed to more than 200,000 farmers in the countries most-affected by the unprecedented Ebola outbreak, in time for the April planting season.

“Agriculture is the lifeline of the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” said Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice-President for Africa. “By speeding supplies of urgently needed seeds of major food crops to communities in West Africa, we are jumpstarting recovery in rural areas and preventing the looming specter of hunger in the countries hardest hit by Ebola.”

According to the World Bank, “more than one million people could go hungry unless they have reliable access to food and emergency measures are taken immediately to safeguard crop and livestock production.”

A recent World Bank Group report shows that the Ebola crisis has taken a heavy toll on the economies in all three countries, and the agriculture and food sectors have been particularly hard hit.

“Reports show that desperate farming families have resorted to eating stored seed originally intended for use in the next cropping cycle. Rural flight has caused harvest-ready crops to wither in the fields,” the World Bank said in its announcement.

Read the full article: UN News Centre

===============

See also: https://www.facebook.com/groups/seedsforfood/

and

https://www.facebook.com/groups/zadenvoorvoedsel/

Grabbing land and seeds of Africa

Photo credit: Pixabay

Africa’s Land

Africa’s Land and Seed Laws Under Attack

EXCERPT

The lobby to industrialise food production in Africa is not only pouring money into plantation projects on the ground, it is changing African laws to serve foreign agribusiness as well. This is the main finding of a new report from the civil society organisations Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and GRAIN.

The report, “Land and seed laws under attack”, documents who is pushing what changes in these two battlegrounds across Africa. Washington DC, home to the World Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the US Agency for International Development, stands out the biggest source of pressure to privatise African farm resources right now. But Europe, through the European Union and various donor mechanisms, is also deeply involved, providing funds and legal frameworks like the plant patenting scheme known as UPOV.

Privatising land and seeds is essential for the corporate model to flourish in Africa. With regard to agricultural land, this means pushing for the official demarcation, registration and titling of farms. It also means making it possible for foreign investors to lease or own land on a long-term basis.

With regard to seeds, it means having governments require that seeds be registered in an official catalogue in order to circulate.

Read the full article: allAfrica

 

African Agriculture to Rethink (IPS)

Read at :

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/world-bank-urges-african-agriculture-rethink/

World Bank Urges African Agriculture Rethink

The World Bank is urging African governments to retool their agriculture policies, particularly to include a far greater focus on agribusiness as a critical driver of future development.

The bank is now projecting that African agriculture could triple in economic size in coming years, topping a trillion dollars by 2030, powered by massively increasing domestic and international demand. With Africa by some counts the world’s fastest-growing economy, middle-class demand for food is set to quadruple by 2030, to more than 400 billion dollars.

“After years of neglect, agriculture is once again seizing the attention of African governments, business leaders, communities, and development donors, as a powerful driver of the continent’s relentless growth,” Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s vice-president for Africa, wrote in the forward to the new report, released Monday by the bank’s Washington headquarters.

“[W]e cannot overstate the importance of agriculture … Africa now stands at a crossroads, from which it can take concrete steps to take on a much bigger role in both the regional and global markets or continue to lose competitiveness – missing a major opportunity for structural transformation.”

While African farmers currently contribute the single largest component to the continent’s annual economic growth, their sector has for decades been seen as failing to reach its full potential.

“On almost any metric – yields, level of exports, contribution to gross domestic product – African agriculture does underperform,” Nicholas Minot, a senior research fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told IPS.

(continued)

World Bank : US$ 100 million loan to stimulate rural production sustainability (Google / Finchannel)

Read at : Google Alert – desertification

http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Banks/106982_60,000_to_benefit_from_Socially_Inclusive_Growth_project_in_rural_areas_of_the_State_of_Cear%C3%A1/

60,000 to benefit from Socially Inclusive Growth project in rural areas of the State of Ceará (N.E.Brazil)

The World Bank Board of Directors approved a US$ 100 million loan to stimulate rural production sustainability, increase income generation, and promote universal access to water and sanitation services in the State of Ceará, in Brazil’s Northeast. The Ceará Rural Sustainable and Competitiveness project will directly benefit 60,000 people living in rural areas.

“The state of Ceará has grown above the national average in recent years. In 2011, Gross Domestic Product grew 4.3 percent, while Brazil’s average was 2.7 percent. This mainly relates to public investments made by the State Government, including projects focused on agriculture that guarantee water supply to small farmers. Investments in this area have led to employment and income increase. The World Bank has been a great partner in this achievement,” said the Governor of Ceará, Cid Gomes.

One of Brazil’s driest states, Ceará faces severe weather conditions, with 87 percent of its territory in semi-arid areas. Frequent prolonged droughts, desertification and occasional flooding have caused major human disasters with huge impacts on agriculture and food production.

Water supply and sanitation are also major concerns. In 2009, 91 percent of the urban population had access to safe water, against only 17 percent in the rural area. In sanitation the figures are more alarming: basic services are available for only 37 percent of urban citizens and 0.20 percent of rural inhabitants.

(continued)