CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Statement by H.E. Mr. Abelardo Moreno, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, at the High-Level  Meeting of the General Assembly on Addressing Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. New York, 20 September 2011

Mr. President,

First and foremost, allow me to stress the importance of this High-level Meeting. Desertification is a global problem directly threatening over 250 million people and one third of the world’s land surface. Nearly 4 billion hectares of farmlands have lost their productive capacity. The survival of virtually one billion people in more than a hundred countries, who depend on farmlands to meet most of their basic needs, is at risk. They are usually the poorest of the planet.

Albeit the problem affects more intensely the African continent, it is not limited to it. Suffice it to point out that in my own region of the world- Latin America and the Caribbean- one fourth of the land has already become deserts and dry. In all over the world, around 70% of the 5.2 billion hectares of dryland used for agriculture are degraded and threatened.

Desertification constitutes a serious political and socioeconomic problem and threatens the environmental balance in the affected regions. In fact, 135 million people- equivalent to the population of France and Germany together- could be obliged to move on account of desertification. In the next 20 years, 60 million people are expected to abandon the desertified areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and to emigrate to the North of the continent and to Europe. It is unquestionably both a cause and an effect of poverty.

Consequently, every strategy seeking to be effective should directly address poverty, taking into consideration social structures and land ownership, and give proper attention to education, training, and communications so as to design a fully comprehensive approach, which is the only way to fight desertification.

 

In this connection, work carried out in the context of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification has raised awareness on the need to support the most affected areas, as well as improved the scientific environment by assessing the ecosystems of drylands with new methodologies and tools, including the amount of resources destined to land degradation.
However, the existing general panorama at the global level is very discouraging. Poverty and environmental degradation rates are growingly high; the negotiations on global agricultural trade are ever more complex; and the number of refugees and environmental immigrants has considerably increased since 1992.

The commitments and actions included in the Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and in other strategies to combat desertification have not been met, mainly due to the lack of political commitments by developed countries, for which the matter is not a priority.

The prospects of work of the Convention Secretariat are focused on the implementation of recipes that are relatively successful in other Conventions like the Climate Change and Biological Diversity Conventions. Hence, the intention of promoting a scientific platform and economic studies in order to assess the sustainable land management, without taking into account the particularities of the Convention.

The establishment of the synergistic approach in these two conventions is also a desperate attempt to obtain not only recognition, but the necessary financial resources for its implementation. Nonetheless, in the context of climate change and biological diversity, the topic of desertification is not seen as a priority and there is no clarity on the mechanisms to implement joint measures and on the initiatives and programs to be included with a view to producing coherent information.

Likewise, the projections for the joint work of the bodies of the Convention do not come to fruition as effectively as required by the measures established in the 10-year Strategy (2011-2020). Also, the analysis of the financial trends continues to be uncertain, not to mention the poor role played by the GEF in the performance of its functions.
Therefore, Cuba considers the role of the Convention in the context of sustainable development must be emphasized and the synergistic approach supported, with a homogeneous language for the three Conventions (Desertification, Biological Diversity and Climate Change) and coherence with regard to the mechanisms and procedures for the implementation of joint measures, without necessarily decreasing support in terms of resource allocation.
We must reinforce our demands on financing, compliance with the ODA and effectiveness of the GEF functions, as well as promote an evaluation process of the economic dimensions and social repercussions of desertification, land degradation and drought with the wide and equitable participation of experts from developing countries.
We advocate the strengthening of the Convention’s scientific basis and the functions of the Committee on Science and Technology, rather than the establishment of an advisory mechanism that, in practice, entails resources and time.

We must open the debate on the need for dialogue among regions and the identification and promotion of South-South cooperation areas, including their insertion on the respective programs of action, with the necessary resources to implement them. It is also essential to include the need for training and technology transfer as key elements for an effective implementation of the Convention.

In light of the aforementioned, I can assure you that my country will continue actively participating in the bodies of the Convention and promote the participation of our scientists in these fora.

Thank you