The Convention to Combat Desertification
Swaziland National Action Programme

CONTENTS | SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION | SECTION 2: DESERTIFICATION IN SWAZILAND | SECTION 3: EXECUTION OF THE NAP PROCESS | SECTION 4: RESPONSES TO DESERTIFICATION | SECTION 5: SETTING THE PRIORITIES | SECTION 6: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL ACTION PROGRAMME | LIST OF REFERENCES AND ACRONYMS | LINKS

LINKS

• Convention to Combat Desertification Secretariat
• Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
• The UNDP/UNSO Capacity Building Workshop for Dryland Management and Implementation of the CCD
• Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• L'Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS)
• UNEP Information Unit for Conventions (IUC) 
• UNEP Drylands Ecosystem and Desertification Control Programme Activity Center (DEDC/PAC)
• UNDP
• UNSO - UNDP
• UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• National plan of action to combat desertification in Somalia
• VEGETATION website

What is Desertification?

Fact sheet 1 - An introduction to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Fact sheet 2 - The causes of desertification
Fact sheet 3 - The consequences of desertification
Fact sheet 4 - Action programmes for combating desertification
Fact sheet 5 - Partnership arrangements between donors and affected states
Fact sheet 6 - Participatory development: A bottom-up approach to combating desertification
Fact sheet 7 - The role of science and technology
Fact sheet 8 - Financing action to combat desertification
Fact sheet 9 - Institutions and procedures of the Convention
Fact sheet 10 - Desertification, global change, and sustainable development
Fact sheet 11 - Combatting desertification in Africa
Fact sheet 12 - Combatting desertification in Asia
Fact sheet 13 - Combatting desertification in Latin America and the Caribean
Fact sheet 14 - Combatting desertification in Northern Mediterranean

Background

Delegates to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) recommended the establishment of an intergovernmental negotiating committee for the elaboration of an international convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (INCD). The UN General Assembly established such a committee in 1992. The INCD drafted the Convention and four regional Annexes for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Northern Mediterranean during five meetings between May 1993 and June 1994. The Convention to Combat Desertification was adopted on 17 June 1994 and was opened for signature in October 1994 in Paris. Three months following the receipt of its fiftieth ratification, the Convention entered into force on 26 December 1996. The first Conference of the Parties (COP) met in September/October 1997. Among the decisions taken at that meeting was the location of the Permanent Secretariat: Bonn, Germany. A Committee on Science and Technology (CST) advises and meets simultaneously with the COP. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin has covered all of the INCD, COP and CST proceedings (ENB CCD Archives). The following discussion elaborates on the CCD’s focus and negotiation process.

CCD Focus: The Convention recognizes: the physical, biological and socioeconomic aspects of desertification; the importance of redirecting technology transfer so that it is demand driven; and the involvement of local populations. The core of the CCD is the development of national and subregional/regional action programmes by national governments in cooperation with donors, local populations and NGOs. The purpose of using an innovative "bottom-up" approach, by involving people who are affected by desertification in decision-making, is to facilitate effective implementation of the Convention. A sign of the CCD’s commitment to the bottom-up approach was the COP-1 invitation for NGOs to organize a Plenary dialogue with delegates on building partnerships for the CCD. COP-1 delegates adopted a decision calling for Plenary meetings at future COPs to be devoted to similar NGO dialogues.

Negotiation of the Convention: In 1992, the UN General Assembly, as requested by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), adopted resolution 47/188 calling for the establishment of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the elaboration of an international convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa (INCD). At the organizational session of the INCD in January 1993, delegates elected Ambassador Bo Kjellén (Sweden) as Chair of the Committee. The INCD met five times between May 1993 and June 1994, during which delegates drafted the Convention and four regional Annexes for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Northern Mediterranean. The Convention was adopted on 17 June 1994, along with resolutions recommending urgent action for Africa and interim arrangements for the period between adoption of the CCD and its entry into force.

The Interim Period

Pending the Convention’s entry into force, the INCD met six times between January 1995 and August 1997 to hear progress reports on urgent action taking place in Africa and interim measures in other regions, and to prepare for COP-1. The preparations included discussion of issues such as the Secretariat's programme and budget, the functions of and administrative arrangements for the Global Mechanism, the physical location of the Permanent Secretariat and the establishment of the Committee on Science and Technology. Although considerable progress was made, especially on scientific and technological cooperation, some important issues remained unresolved at the end of the last session of the INCD. The size and membership of the COP Bureau were left for COP-1 to decide, as were questions about the host institutions and some functions of the Global Mechanism.

The Conference of the Parties and the Committee on Science and Technology

Three months following the receipt of its fiftieth ratification, the Convention entered into force on 26 December 1996. On the first day of COP-1 (30 September 1997), 113 countries had submitted instruments of ratification. As of February 2000, 161 countries have ratified the CCD.

The First Conference of the Parties (COP-1) to the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) met in Rome, Italy, from 29 September to 10 October 1997. Monday, 29 September, was used for regional consultations, so the COP opened officially on 30 September. The Committee on Science and Technology (CST) held its first session simultaneously on 2 - 3 October. Additional parallel events included an NGO Forum, an international forum for mayors, a seminar for the media and an exhibit of comic strips. One hundred and two States submitted their instruments of ratification by the requisite date and participated as Parties to the Convention. As of 30 September 1997, 113 countries had submitted instruments of ratification.

The COP-1 and CST-1 agendas contained primarily organizational matters. Delegates selected Bonn, Germany, as the location for the Permanent Secretariat and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as the organization to administer the Global Mechanism. They agreed that the Mechanism could guide and channel resources mobilized through bilateral and multilateral sources to activities, programmes and projects in the field and use its own resources mobilized through a trust fund and/or similar arrangement for specified functions. At the CST's recommendation, the COP established an ad hoc panel to oversee the continuation of the process of surveying benchmarks and indicators, and decided that CST-2 would consider linkages between traditional knowledge and modern technology. Five Plenary meetings were devoted to a High-Level Segment and one to a dialogue between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and delegates on building partnerships for the CCD. Argentina's proposal that Plenary meetings at future COPs be devoted to similar NGO dialogues was also adopted. While most delegates were pleased with the two-week session, they looked forward to COP-2 to delve into more substantive issues related to combatting desertification.

Delegates to the Second Conference of the Parties (COP-2) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) met in Dakar, Senegal, from 30 November to 11 December 1998. The Committee on Science and Technology (CST) met in parallel to the COP on 1 to 4 December. Delegates approved arrangements for the institutional linkage between the Convention and the UN Secretariat and the headquarters agreement with the Government of Germany, where the Secretariat is scheduled to move in early 1999. The COP approved adjustments to its budget and adopted the outstanding rules of procedure concerning bureau members, but retained bracketed language regarding majority voting absent consensus. Eastern and Central European countries were invited to submit to COP-3 a draft regional implementation annex.

The CST established an ad hoc panel to follow-up its discussion on links between traditional and modern knowledge. Delegates considered, but deferred to COP-3, decisions on the Secretariat's medium-term strategy, adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding between the COP and IFAD regarding the Global Mechanism, and the G-77/China proposal to establish a Committee on the Review of the Implementation of the Convention. Delegates expressed pleasure with the CST's discussion on traditional knowledge, as well as with an informal discussion on experience implementing NAPs and NGO dialogues on these two issues. Insights into the COP's and CST's ability to translate deliberations into action will have to wait, however; late- starts on both the UNEP-led survey and evaluation of existing networks and the operation of the Global Mechanism, called for by COP-1, precluded substantive discussions on these first fruits of the CST's and COP's deliberations.

Delegates to the Third Conference of the Parties (COP-3) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) met in Recife, Brazil, from 15-26 November 1999. The Committee on Science and Technology (CST) met in parallel to the COP from 16-19 November. Delegates approved the long-negotiated Memorandum of Understanding between the COP and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) regarding the Convention’s Global Mechanism, welcomed progress made on a draft implementation annex for Central and East European countries, and created ad hoc panels to undertake intersessional work to facilitate the CST’s consideration of traditional knowledge and early warning systems, among other decisions.

The general mood of those participants still at the Pernambuco Conference Center when the meeting adjourned at 2:10 am on Saturday, 27 November, however, was one of disappointment due to the missed opportunities and tensions that pervaded the meeting. Many participants came to Recife expecting to discuss and review CCD implementation, based on the impressive number of national reports submitted to COP-3 by African country Parties. Instead, delegates found themselves focused on questions related to the structure of the Convention, primarily the role of the Secretariat and the procedures and mechanisms to review implementation in the future. The discussions on the Secretariat’s role took place in the context of decisions on the medium-term strategy of the Secretariat and the programme and budget. On the review of implementation in the future, delegates considered a proposal to create a new committee to that end and another on issues to be addressed in the national reports.

Some believed that the tensions and mistrust generated during the meeting may have set back the Convention and its tradition of a strong spirit of partnership. COP-4 is scheduled to receive reports on implementation in the Latin American and the Caribbean, Asian and the Northern Mediterranean regions, so a full review and true turning point in the life of the Convention, from establishing structures to implementing the Convention, may have to wait until COP-5. Yet some believe that the implementation of the Recife Initiative, which calls on COP-4 to adopt a declaration on commitments, may provide an opportunity to revitalize the CCD processes.