NEWS - NAMIBIA
| 2013-07-29Namibia signs COP11 agreement
Theresia Tjihenuna
IN AGREEMENT ... The Minister of Foreign Affairs Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and the Executive Secretary oftheUnited Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Luc Gnacandja, sign the Host Country Agreement.
NAMIBIA has signed the agreement to host the 11th United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of the Parties (COP11).
Namibia will be the third country in Africa to host the event which will run from 16 to 27 September 2013 at the Windhoek Country Club and Resort. Last Friday the Minister of Foreign Affairs Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah signed a Host Country Agreement with the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, Luc Gnacandja.
The Host Country Agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the government with regard to the hosting of the event. The COP11 takes place as Namibia experiences its most severe drought yet.
Between 2000 and 3000 delegates from over 195 parties to the UNCCD, UN organisations, inter-governmental and civil society organisations are expected to attend the event. Delegates, who also include scientists and affected communities, will debate and come up with solutions to improve the living conditions of people in dry-lands, maintaining and restoring land and soil productivity and mitigating the effects of drought.
The ministry of foreign affairs says each of the issues to be discussed are critical for Namibia, especially considering the current drought ravaging the country.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, deforestation for cropland expansion and overgrazing are the major causes of land degradation and desertification.
“More than 50% of agricultural land worldwide is affected by desertification and this process is accelerating. Whereas in 1991 just 15% of the earth’s total land area was degraded, in 2011, this figure had spiralled to 25%,” she said.
The ministry said land degradation directly affects 1.5 billion people globally. A total of 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil is lost every year because of cropland erosion, while another 12 million hectares annually is affected by drought and desertification.
Some 27 000 species are lost each year due to land degradation, showing that this process has devastating impact on biodiversity. The ministry said it has been proven that living standards and literacy rates are declining in countries that experience increasing levels of aridity.
“Often, land degradation is driven by poorly thought out and unsustainable ways of using land for agricultural production. This has resulted in a situation where half of Africa’s population lives in dry lands. A large part of Africa’s rain forests are under very high risk of desertification and two thirds of Africa’s arable land could be lost by 2015 if this trend is not reversed,” warned Nandi-Ndaitwah.
According to UNCCD data, areas with high land degradation rates are also prone to political violence and conflict. Worldwide, droughts are likely to occur more frequently and with a higher intensity. Southern Africa will be one of the worst affected regions.
COP11 will be convened under the theme “A stronger UNCCD for a Land-Degradation Neutral World.” and marks the progress the parties to the convention made under the 10-year strategy and encourages further action for its successful implementation during the latter half of the strategy period.
This will be the first time a UNCCD COP will be held in Southern Africa. The event will be coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
The Host Country Agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the government with regard to the hosting of the event. The COP11 takes place as Namibia experiences its most severe drought yet.
Between 2000 and 3000 delegates from over 195 parties to the UNCCD, UN organisations, inter-governmental and civil society organisations are expected to attend the event. Delegates, who also include scientists and affected communities, will debate and come up with solutions to improve the living conditions of people in dry-lands, maintaining and restoring land and soil productivity and mitigating the effects of drought.
The ministry of foreign affairs says each of the issues to be discussed are critical for Namibia, especially considering the current drought ravaging the country.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, deforestation for cropland expansion and overgrazing are the major causes of land degradation and desertification.
“More than 50% of agricultural land worldwide is affected by desertification and this process is accelerating. Whereas in 1991 just 15% of the earth’s total land area was degraded, in 2011, this figure had spiralled to 25%,” she said.
The ministry said land degradation directly affects 1.5 billion people globally. A total of 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil is lost every year because of cropland erosion, while another 12 million hectares annually is affected by drought and desertification.
Some 27 000 species are lost each year due to land degradation, showing that this process has devastating impact on biodiversity. The ministry said it has been proven that living standards and literacy rates are declining in countries that experience increasing levels of aridity.
“Often, land degradation is driven by poorly thought out and unsustainable ways of using land for agricultural production. This has resulted in a situation where half of Africa’s population lives in dry lands. A large part of Africa’s rain forests are under very high risk of desertification and two thirds of Africa’s arable land could be lost by 2015 if this trend is not reversed,” warned Nandi-Ndaitwah.
According to UNCCD data, areas with high land degradation rates are also prone to political violence and conflict. Worldwide, droughts are likely to occur more frequently and with a higher intensity. Southern Africa will be one of the worst affected regions.
COP11 will be convened under the theme “A stronger UNCCD for a Land-Degradation Neutral World.” and marks the progress the parties to the convention made under the 10-year strategy and encourages further action for its successful implementation during the latter half of the strategy period.
This will be the first time a UNCCD COP will be held in Southern Africa. The event will be coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
