2.1 A Wake Up Call from the Sahel
The term desertification is, more often than not, completely misunderstood and is
usually deemed to mean naturally occurring deserts. In fact, desertification has
nothing to do with these deserts, all of which existed long before the first Homo
sapiens evolved to set foot on this planet. The Namib Desert for example is
55 million years old and is a naturally occupying ecosystem. Consequently, when
one speaks of desertification, one is speaking of bio-productive land becoming so
unproductive due to several factors, including the improper actions and behaviour of
humans towards the land, which causes it to take on desert-like features.
12 The
UNCCD is designed to address this latter challenge of the protection and enhancement of bio-productive land. But how, and more importantly, why did the UNCCD
come into being?
In the 1970s, serious and prolonged drought led to tragic consequences in the
Sahel for humans, animals and the environment in general as the land failed to
produce the food needed to sustain normal live and living. The international community could not simply sit back and watch the unfolding catastrophe of massive
loss of human and animal life. Something had to be done. The response was the
United Nations 1977 Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) held in Nairobi,
Kenya, which culminated in the adoption of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD).
13 It was soon realized that the PACD was not working too well;
that desertification seriously affects other parts of the world; that the plan was too
limited in scope and geopolitical reach, and that the consequences of desertification
were global economic, social and environmental.
There was, therefore, a need for a global approach, response and commitment if a
lasting solution was to be found. It must be noted here that even with these serious
limitations, the Nairobi Conference was a signal moment when the international
community, however slowly, began to realize that the death of soils could reap havoc
in many parts of the world, leading to terrible catastrophes with dire global consequences. The UNCOD gave this question of desertification/land degradation some
international currency as regards policy, which will eventually lead to the forming of
law (UNCCD), and ultimately to the adoption of SDG Target 15.3.
By 1992, much of the peoples of the world became cognisant of the threat our
present attitude to the pursuit of development poses to the environment and consequently to our very existence.
14 In keeping with this, they accepted that desertification, if not a global problem from the standpoint that not every nation suffers from it,
was indeed a global problem due to its far reaching consequences for humanity as a
whole. This gave birth to the concept of the need for a convention to address this
issue. An intergovernmental group to work out the text of a global convention was
12 Eswaran et al. (2001).
13 Bauer and Stringer (2009).
14 UNESCO (1992) The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
4
R. Byron-Cox
The term desertification is, more often than not, completely misunderstood and is
usually deemed to mean naturally occurring deserts. In fact, desertification has
nothing to do with these deserts, all of which existed long before the first Homo
sapiens evolved to set foot on this planet. The Namib Desert for example is
55 million years old and is a naturally occupying ecosystem. Consequently, when
one speaks of desertification, one is speaking of bio-productive land becoming so
unproductive due to several factors, including the improper actions and behaviour of
humans towards the land, which causes it to take on desert-like features.
12 The
UNCCD is designed to address this latter challenge of the protection and enhancement of bio-productive land. But how, and more importantly, why did the UNCCD
come into being?
In the 1970s, serious and prolonged drought led to tragic consequences in the
Sahel for humans, animals and the environment in general as the land failed to
produce the food needed to sustain normal live and living. The international community could not simply sit back and watch the unfolding catastrophe of massive
loss of human and animal life. Something had to be done. The response was the
United Nations 1977 Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) held in Nairobi,
Kenya, which culminated in the adoption of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD).
13 It was soon realized that the PACD was not working too well;
that desertification seriously affects other parts of the world; that the plan was too
limited in scope and geopolitical reach, and that the consequences of desertification
were global economic, social and environmental.
There was, therefore, a need for a global approach, response and commitment if a
lasting solution was to be found. It must be noted here that even with these serious
limitations, the Nairobi Conference was a signal moment when the international
community, however slowly, began to realize that the death of soils could reap havoc
in many parts of the world, leading to terrible catastrophes with dire global consequences. The UNCOD gave this question of desertification/land degradation some
international currency as regards policy, which will eventually lead to the forming of
law (UNCCD), and ultimately to the adoption of SDG Target 15.3.
By 1992, much of the peoples of the world became cognisant of the threat our
present attitude to the pursuit of development poses to the environment and consequently to our very existence.
14 In keeping with this, they accepted that desertification, if not a global problem from the standpoint that not every nation suffers from it,
was indeed a global problem due to its far reaching consequences for humanity as a
whole. This gave birth to the concept of the need for a convention to address this
issue. An intergovernmental group to work out the text of a global convention was
12 Eswaran et al. (2001).
13 Bauer and Stringer (2009).
14 UNESCO (1992) The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
4
R. Byron-Cox