What is/are the importance/importances of the 'United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification'? Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

National action programmes and a bottom-up approach; its focus region is Africa.

Statement by statement

1. ✓ CORRECT It promotes action through national programmes and international partnerships.

2. ✗ WRONG Its special focus is Africa (an annex for Africa); its secretariat does not allocate most funds to South Asia and North Africa.

3. ✓ CORRECT It stresses a bottom-up approach with local people taking part.

The idea

Desertification does not mean deserts spreading. It means land in dry areas losing its productivity because of over-grazing, tree cutting, bad irrigation and drought. The people who use the land are the ones who can stop it, so the convention is built from the village upwards.

Local people take part in planning → National Action Programme is written → International partners give money and technology → Land is restored → Goal: land degradation neutrality by 2030

The trap

Deserts suggest North Africa and South Asia. The convention’s priority annex is for Africa as a whole.

Also know

It is a legally binding convention on desertification and drought and one of the three Rio conventions. Adopted at Paris in 1994; secretariat at Bonn. Africa gets priority, and there are regional annexes for other regions as well. India hosted COP14 at New Delhi in 2019 and pledged to restore 26 million hectares by 2030. About 30% of India’s land is degraded. 17 June is the day to combat desertification and drought.