The 10th anniversary

Published: 28 June 2004 y., Monday
This week in Bonn, Germany, the United Nations is observing the 10th anniversary of its international campaign to fight desertification. Desertification is the degradation of once useful land that the U.N. says is threatening food security and triggering humanitarian and economic crises. One fifth of the world's population is threatened by the impact of desertification. Defined as the degradation of formally productive land, the effects of desertification can be seen all over the world. Thursday, experts say one third of the earth's surface is threatened by desertification, which adds up to an area of over 4 billion hectares of the planet. On the tenth anniversary of the U.N. convention to combat desertification, the United Nations and its agencies are highlighting the issues involved. Mary Seely is director of the desert research foundation of Namibia.
Šaltinis: voanews.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

EU position on blue fin tuna ban debated Tuesday

The fate of blue fin tuna hangs in the balance this week as a complete ban on the trade is debated by MEPs. more »

Programs for Climate Action Get Underway With $400 million for Forests and $300 million for Renewables

A $100 million pledge from the Government of Japan has helped to secure the funding base and launch the operational phase of two new climate programs supporting forest management and renewable energy investments in developing countries. more »

Taking Europe’s pulse

Europeans quite happy with their personal situation, but less satisfied with economic and social climate in their country. more »

Spain wants to progress the incorporation of human rights and fundamental freedoms into Community law "as much as possible"

Spain wishes to “make as much progress as possible” to ensure the EU becomes party to the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms soon, according to the Spanish Minister for Justice, Francisco Caamaño, at today's opening of a seminar on the challenges and possibilities arising from the Treaty of Lisbon coming into force. more »

Belarusian children’s store eyes expansion

According to Belarusian tradition, a stork brings good fortune to the village it settles in while in western culture the stork is commonly associated with childbirth. more »

World Bank Approves US $20 Million in Additional Financing for Moldova’s Social Investment Fund II Project

The World Bank Board of Directors today approved an additional financing credit to the Republic of Moldova in the amount of US $20 million for the Social Investment Fund II Project. more »

Eighty million Europeans live in poverty

The Spanish Health and Social Policy Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, and the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, addressed the press in Madrid on the launch of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010. more »

EU launches 2010 European Year: Stop poverty now!

The European Commission and the Spanish Presidency of the EU will tomorrow launch the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. more »

Spain proposes tougher smoking ban

Smoking at a restaurant like this one in Spain could soon be a thing of the past. Spanish lawmakers want to stub out the habit in public places like bars and restaurants. But it's an unpopular proposal in a country where around 30 percent of the population smoke. more »

Statement by President Mario Sepi: Earthquake in Haiti: European civil society and all the institutions must provide help and support to Haiti's population

As President of the European Economic and Social Committee, I would like, on behalf of all the Committee's members, to express my sympathy to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. more »