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World Day to Combat Desertification, 17 June 2013 - Don't let our future dry up
an article by Initiatives of Change - International
On the World Day to Combat Desertification – 17
June 2013 - Marian Fernando writes about the trust
factor in the complex issues around land
degradation and the way that Initiatives of Change
seeks to address these issues through its
Initiative for Land Lives and Peace.
photo from IOFC website
click on photo to enlarge
Since 1994 the United Nations General Assembly has
recognized 17th June as the World Day to Combat
Desertification and Drought. This year, the
Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is focusing
especially on drought and water scarcity with the
slogan, “Don’t let our future dry up,” and urging
everyone to, “...take action to promote
preparedness and resilience to water scarcity,
desertification, and drought.” (See this PDF document)
Desertification, drought, and water scarcity
greatly fuels conflict, as people are forced to
compete for access to the basic necessities, such
as land, food, and water, vital for their
survival. It comes as no surprise then that over
75 percent of the world’s conflicts occur in
resource-scarce dryland areas, although they are
inhabited by only 35 percent of the world’s
population.
Land restoration is increasingly recognized as an
important factor in fostering peace and
sustainable development, locally, and globally.
However, an often encountered hurdle to achieving
either remains a lack of trust due to a past or
on-going conflict among local populations. Several
years ago Initiatives of Change (IofC)
International began focusing on the issue of land
restoration. At the request of Luc Gnacadja,
Executive Secretary of UNCCD, in 2011 and 2012
dialogues on this topic took place as part of the
Caux Forum for
Human Security, resulting in a formal
partnership request from the UNCCD to IofC
International.
At IofC, where change in human attitudes,
behavior, and relationships is recognized as the
key to achieving lasting peace and development, a
programme was conceived, Initiative for Land, Lives and
Peace (ILLP), with the aim to promote peace
and reconciliation through land restoration.
Drawing on over 80 years of IofC experience in
facilitating reconciliation through dialogue and
trust-building activities, the programme works
with communities to develop their capacities to
share and manage their resources.
Working with grassroots organizations and local
IofC offices to identify communities vulnerable to
land degradation and conflict, a pilot project was
launched in Baringo County, Kenya (home to several
pastoral tribes), which has seen an increase in
armed conflicts due to diminishing grazing lands,
drought, and cattle rustling. Through videos,
dialogue, reconciliation sessions, and other
trust-building activities, ILLP is working with
tribal leaders and local peace practitioners to
teach these troubled communities practical methods
for taking care of the environment, as well as the
importance of cultivating an atmosphere of peace.
(See this news
story)
[Note: Thank you to Tex Albert, the CPNN reporter
for this article.]
(This article is continued in the discussionboard)
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This year from July 7th to 11th, the Initiatives
of Change, together with Luc Gnacadja, Executive
Secretary of the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and Mohamed
Sahnoun, Chair of the Caux Forum for Human
Security, will convene the Caux Dialogue on Land
and Security (CDLS) to further discuss linkages
between land degradation and human security. The
conference will feature workshops based on select
case studies of land restoration from around the
world. Examining the successes and challenges of
these cases will allow for the formulation of a
methodology and set of best practices, as well as
provide an opportunity for practitioners,
advocates, and policy makers to build productive
partnerships to combat desertification and land
degradation.
Facts & Figures on Land Degradation and
Desertification*
Land degradation affects 1.5 billion people
globally.
Total land degradation affects over 1.9 billion
hectares of land worldwide, with arable land loss
estimated at 30 to 35 time the historical rate.
Each year 12 million ha, where 20 million tons of
grain could have been grown, are lost to drought and
desertification.
42 percent of the very poor and 32 percent of the
moderately poor are directly affected by land
degradation globally.
2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture
despite 52 percent of the land used for agriculture
being moderately or severely affected by soil
degradation.
Land degradation over the next 25 years may reduce
global food production by as much as 12 percent,
resulting in an increase of up to 30 percent in
world food prices.
*Source: UNCCD, Desertification Land Degradation and
Drought (DLDD) – Some Global Facts & Figures
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