Close to 70 Percent of the Earth's Soil in Risk of Drought

Close to 70 Percent of the Earth's Soil in Risk of Drought

~ UNCCD warns that green deal is necessary in order combat desertification ~

Countries around the world need to implement policies to slow desertification. If policies fail, drought could parch close to 70 percent of the planet's soil by 2025, warns the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Luc Gnacadja.

"If we cannot find a solution to this problem... in 2025, close to 70 percent could be affected," Luc Gnacadja of Benin said at the ninth session of the UNCCD last week in Argentina, according to AFP.

Gnacadja said that "there will not be global security without food security" in dry regions. He stressed that "a green deal is necessary" for developing countries working to combat drought and linked the discussion to the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. In Copenhagen, sustainable soil management must be on the agenda, he said. In a statement UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon agreed that "when world leaders gather in Copenhagen in December, the land agenda should be part of the picture."

"Sustainable land management can make a critical contribution through carbon sequestration, land reclamation and efforts to combat soil loss and restore vegetation," said Ban Ki-moon.


2009-10-05
http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2273