Regional initiative will share knowledge of desertification

Namibia's shifting sand dunes and sparse thorn trees are a photographer's delight. But for the 70 percent of the population who depend on subsistence farming, finding solutions to desertification is vital.

To help people in Namibia and the rest of Southern Africa cope with the problem, the Namibian government and the UN DP has launched Desertification 2002, a regional network to link affected communities and governments and scientists.

Catherine Odada, UNDP programme assistant said that the initiative, launched by the Namibian government with funding from Japan through UNDP, would share knowledge on community initiatives to combat desertification.

"The network will study what people do to cope and their methods of farming and land use," Odada said.

They would do this through conferences, workshops, training and community exchanges.

A new website would help tie these activities together.

http:www.drfn.gov.na

Part of the initiative was a conference in South Africa earlier last month attended by delegates from around the world, including Hama Arba Diallo, Secretary General of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

Namibia, the driest country in Southern Africa, has already ratified the Convention.

Endorsing the initiative, delegates agreed that in a field with many approaches to the problem, they learnt from each other's experiences.

"Although combating desertification forms part of the intitiative, it is mostly about living with it and coping with it," Odada said. "In some places in Namibia, communities who can't plant crops are making a living by selling crafts they make out of local materials. Other communities have borehole projects and others combat desertification by planting trees."

The project would last until next May and would also include the study of traditional grazing practices.

According to the UN Convention on Desertification, this can generally be defined as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting mainly from adverse human impact". It overlaps with a number of related environmental issues such as climate change, population growth, trade and biodiversity.

http://www.fao.org/desertification/intro.asp?lang=en