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Desertification and the Convention to Combat Desertification Fact Sheet released by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs U.S. Department of State, November 16, 1998

First proposed during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (CCD) seeks to combat desertification (land degradation) and mitigate the effects of drought on arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid lands through effective action at local, national, and regional levels. The CCD entered into force on December 26, 1996, and has been ratified by 137 countries. The United States signed the CCD on October 14, 1994, and President Clinton transmitted it to the Senate on August 2, 1996, where it awaits advice and consent. Recent public interest in U.S. ratification, spurred by collaboration between the Administration and the private (NGO and business) sector, may encourage the U.S. Senate to schedule a hearing and provide advice and consent in the near future.

Desertification, as defined by the CCD, means "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities." The desertification process takes place in dryland areas where the earth is especially fragile, where rainfall is nil and the climate harsh. The result of desertification is the destruction or removal of topsoil followed by loss of the land's ability to sustain crops, livestock, or human activity and livelihoods. In the United States, the Dust Bowl phenomenon of the 1930s is a premier example of the devastation caused by desertification.

While land degradation can take place anywhere, desertification only occurs in dryland areas. At least 25% of the world's land is affected by desertification. Severe or moderate desertification affects 74% of the land in North America. In Africa, more than 2.4 million acres of land -- 73% of its drylands -- are moderately or severely affected by desertification.

Climatic changes can trigger the desertification process, but human activities frequently are the proximate cause. Overcultivation of the land eventually exhausts the soil. Deforestation removes trees that hold the soil to the land. Overgrazing of livestock strips the land of grasses. Poverty, and the requirements for day-to-day survival, drive people inhabiting the drylands to overuse their land, which triggers the desertification process. The CCD recognizes this dynamic and places great emphasis on solving the root causes of desertification by calling for a "bottom-up" approach to desertification prevention efforts. By involving local people in the fight against desertification, the Convention offers hope that desertification can be halted and rolled back.

For more information, contact the CCD Secretariat at their web site (http://www.unccd.ch).

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