Dakar, Nov 26 (APS) – The Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment and Ecological Transition (METE), Fodé Fall, believes that States should initiate collective actions to accelerate the rehabilitation of degraded lands by 2030.
“States should decide on collective actions to accelerate the rehabilitation of degraded lands by 2030, strengthen preparedness and resilience to drought,” he recommended.
Fodé Fall spoke during a preparatory workshop of the Senegalese delegation to the 16e Conference of the Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), scheduled for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13, 2024.
“They must also ensure, among other things, that lands continue to provide solutions in terms of climate and biodiversity while strengthening resilience in the face of an increase in sand and dust storms (…),” he said. -he added.
He recalled that Africa remains one of the continents “most affected” by land degradation. ”Approximately 23% of its surface area, or more than 700 million hectares of land, are already degraded and another three million hectares continue to degrade each year,” he stressed.
The theme of this 16e edition of the conference of the parties on the fight against desertification is: ”Our land, our future”.
Mr. Fall indicated that on the agenda of the negotiations for this COP, “the key strategic questions will include, among other things, the mid-term evaluation of the 2018-2030 strategic framework, land tenure, sand and dust storms , drought, means of implementation, financing, gender and gender equality and of course on the issue of migration.
In view of these negotiations, he invited African countries to speak with a “single voice” to weigh on the balance. ”Riyadh will be a high place for exchange and sharing on crucial issues concerning the fight against desertification,” he noted.
Regarding Senegal, he stressed that “the land area, according to the Land Degradation Assessment in Arid Areas (LADA) project, is 20,179,118 hectares with a level of land degradation estimated at 34%, which represents a degraded area of 6,860,900 hectares.
This is why this 16th conference of parties on the fight against desertification is of great importance for proposing possible solutions for sustainable management of our lands and for the great benefits of the nations of the world, he said. he argues.
Fodé Fall pleaded on this occasion for the strengthening of “women’s land rights”, before announcing that the Senegalese delegation to COP 16 will be made up of around a hundred participants.
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