Draft:United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 - 2020 United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification.

Celebration
On the 19th of December, 2007 the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General Assembly declared 2010 - 2020 the Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification in Resolution 62/195. "Desertification, defined as the degradation of land in drylands, threatens the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people in around 100 countries and may trigger the disruption of up to 44% of the world's cropping systems. Recent studies indicate that drylands account for over 41.3% of the Earth's surface and are home to 2.1 billion people, which is one third of the world's population. Furthermore, one in three crop species currently cultivated has its origins in drylands. Not only that, but drylands feed 50% of the world's livestock, are home to a rich fauna and represent almost half of the cultivated systems. To promote actions to protect drylands around the world from deterioration and degradation into deserts, the United Nations launched the Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification on 16 August 2010, inaugurating a decade that will run from January 2010 to December 2020. The Decade was launched in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, during the opening of the second International Conference on Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi-Arid Regions. This launch was complemented by regional launches during September and November 2010. In Africa, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - in collaboration with UNDP - held a simultaneous launch and press conference in Nairobi (Kenya) on 16 August. The events of the Decade will be spearheaded by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in collaboration with the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the UN Secretariat in New York; UNEP; the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and other UN agencies."