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Session title: Desertification, land degradation and drought

Chaired & Supported: UNCCD, Bonn, Germany / Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency, SDC, Bern, Switzerland

Disasters are exacerbated by desertification, land degradation and drought which are among the most pressing global environmental challenges of our time. The sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems is the basis for the provision of critical services, such as food, water, and energy. Sustainable land use management contributes to human security, poverty alleviation, human security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, conservation of nature and to biodiversity. What are the necessary mechanisms to prevent desertification and land degradation worldwide? What are the implications of climate change induced desertification for policy making and governance processes? How is soil quality interlinked with climate change, energy and food security and biodiversity? The panel will discuss the available frameworks to address the challenges posed by land degradation and desertification and highlight their weaknesses. Furthermore the panel will focus on providing ideas and possible ways on how to tackle the problems in the future.

Chair:

• Gnacadja, Luc; Executive Secretary United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD, Bonn, Germany

Moderator:

• De Kalbermatten, Grégoire, Former Deputy Executive Secretary UNCCD, Switzerland

Panelists:

• Burger, Patrice; Executive Director CARI, France
• Jansen, Roland A.; CEO Mother Earth Investments AG, Altendorf, Switzerland
• Razavi, Khadija-Catherine; Executive Director of Center for Sustainable Development (CENESTA), Tehran, Iran
• Reij, Chris; Senior specialist in Sustainable Land Management UV University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This video clip shows all key note speakers. DESIRE's Patrice Burger's address "Degradation of land, desertification drought and poverty: a global risk?" starts about 20 minutes into the recording.

Download the slide presentation

IDRC Davos 2010, Patrice Burger presentation [2.27MB]