As Nações Unidas declararam 2006 o Ano Internacional dos Desertos e da Desertificação, decisão que visa alertar para a proliferação não natural da desertificação em várias partes do globo e que pretende promover medidas e acções que possam contrariar a desertificação e a degradação da terra.
Pretende-se ainda com esta iniciativa celebrar o ecossistema único e a diversidade cultural dos desertos do mundo inteiro., estabelecendo um clara diferença entre a necessidade de proteger os desertos e simultaneamente combater a desertificação.
Mais informações:
http://www.unccd.int/
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/iyddlogo/menu.php
Desertification, in the words of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is one of the world’s most alarming processes of environmental degradation. The issue is often obscured, however, by a common misperception: that it’s a “natural” problem of advancing deserts in faraway developing countries
In fact, Desertification is about land degradation: the loss of the land’s biological productivity, caused by human-induced factors and climate change. It affects one third of the earth’s surface and over a billion people. Moreover, it has potentially devastating consequences in terms of social and economic costs.
With the adoption in 1994 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the issue was given proper recognition. Desertification as a global challenge, together with Climate Change and Biodiversity, now enjoys the support of a strong coalition of partners. But public awareness has not kept pace. In relation to the true scope and magnitude of the problem, Desertification still receives too little attention and is little understood by the public at large .
In view of this situation, the twenty-second session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), recalling the UNCCD, the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment Initiative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), invited the General Assembly of the United Nations to consider declaring an international year of deserts and desertification.
Subsequently, at its 58 th ordinary session, the General Assembly declared 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD). In doing so, the General Assembly underlined its deep concern for the exacerbation of desertification, particularly in Africa, and noted its far-reaching implications for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which must be met by 2015.
At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Convention was singled out as a key instrument for poverty eradication in dryland rural áreas.
The IYDD therefore presents a golden opportunity to get the message across strongly and effectively that Desertification is a global problem which we ignore at our peril. It also provides an impulse to strengthen the visibility and importance of the drylands issue on the international environmental agenda, while providing a timely reminder to the international community of the immense challenges that still lie ahead.
It is important to recognize, however, that drylands are also home to some of the most magnificent ecosystems of this world: the deserts. These unique natural habitats with their incredibly diverse fauna have been home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. They stand like open-air museums, bearing witness to bygone eras. The Year will therefore also celebrate the fragile beauty and unique heritage of the world’s deserts, which deserve protection.
To achieve a common strategy for the celebration of the IYDD, an inter-agency committee has been set up, bringing together the principal institutional partners of the United Nations active in the UNCCD implementation process, including UNEP, UNDP, IFAD, and other relevant UN bodies. All countries and civil society organizations are encouraged to undertake special initiatives to mark the Year and to get involved in any way possible. Through a concerted effort to raise awareness of Desertification, we can help stimulate efforts to fight it and make the International Year count.
Informação:
Listagem dos Anos Internacionais promovidos pelas Nações Unidas:
1959/60
World Refugee Year
1965
International Cooperation Year
1967
International Tourism Year
1968
International Year for Human Rights
1970
International Education Year
1971
International Year for Action to Combat Racism & Racial Discrimination
1974
World Population Year
1975
International Women’s Year
1978
International Anti-Apartheid Year
1979
International Year of the Child
1981
International Year of Disabled Persons
1982
International Year of Mobilisation for Sanctions Against South Africa
1983
World Communications Year
1985
International Youth Year
1986
International Year of Peace
1987
International Year of Shelter for the Homeless
1990
International Literacy Year
1992
International Space Year (endorsed, not declared)
1993
International Year for World’s Indigenous People
1994
International Year of the Family; and International Year of Sport & Olympic Ideal
1995
United Nations Year for Tolerance
1996
International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
1998
International Year of the Ocean
1999
International Year of Older Persons; and Centennial of the First International Peace Conference
2000
International Year for the Culture of Peace; and International Year of Thanksgiving
2001
International Year of Volunteers; and United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations; and International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
2002
International Year of Mountains; andInternational Year of Culture Heritage; and International Year of Ecotourism (http://www.world-tourism.org/index.htm or http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/ecotourism/iye.htm)
2003
International Year of Freshwater
2004
International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and Its Abolition; and International Year of Rice
2005
International Year of Microcredit; and International Year for Sport and Physical Education
2006
International Year of Deserts and Desertification
