World’s Development Programmes and Organisations

Threats of Land Degradation in SSA Countries

All Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are threatened by land degradation. It is noteworthy that 46 out of 50 of them have ratified the convention on biological diversity. Protected areas provide both local and international benefits—especially when policies and strategies involve communities surrounding the protected areas in managing them. For example, seven community-based protected areas management in Uganda had significantly lower bush burning, logging, and encroachment than nine other protected areas without local community involvement (UNCCD, 2018).

World's Development Programmes and Organisations

Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger (FAO, 2018). The goal of FAO is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With over 194 member states, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. The organization emphasizes that everyone can play a part in ending hunger. FAO also focuses on sustainable agricultural practices to protect the environment.

Strategy (2008-2018) to Combat Land Degradation and Desertification

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) adopted a 10-year Strategy (2008-2018) to combat land degradation and desertification. By bringing together countries affected in whole or in part by desertification and land degradation, and developed countries, the UNCCD has mobilized the necessary political will and funding (UNCCD, 2018). This collaborative effort aims to tackle the root causes of land degradation and promote sustainable land management practices.

TerrAfrica

TerrAfrica was established in 2005 to support and strengthen the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Action Plan of the Environment. It endorses the principles of country-level partnership, knowledge management, and harmonized, aligned, and scaled-up investment. Its mission is to create an enabling environment for mainstreaming and financing effective, nationally driven, sustainable land management strategies (TerrAfrica, 2018).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and of reversing land degradation and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by the year 2030. The objective of LDN is to ensure that the productive land resources we depend on for ecosystem services (water, food, rainfall, etc.) remain at least stable or are being regenerated. Two joint actions need to be taken to make land degradation neutrality happen: avoid further land degradation and recover already degraded land (United Nations, 2015). The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve LDN and is consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Global Alliance for Resilience Initiative

The European Commission launched this initiative in 2012 to strengthen nutrition and secure the livelihoods of vulnerable households, improve sustainable agricultural and food productivity, and build resilience of communities to climate change and land degradation in West Africa and the Sahel region (European Commission, 2012).

The Global Environment Facility

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems (GEF, 2018). Since then, the GEF has provided over $17 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $88 billion in financing for more than 4,000 projects in 170 countries. Today, the GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector that addresses global environmental issues. The facility focuses on biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, and more.

The Global Soil Partnership

Established by the FAO in 2012 and strongly supported by the European Union, this partnership aims to improve global soil governance to achieve healthy and productive soils for a food-secure world, as well as to sustain other essential ecosystem services (FAO, 2018).

The Global Water Partnership

Founded in 1996 with the support of the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, it is an international network created to foster an integrated approach to water resources management. Its vision is for a water-secure world. The network offers practical advice for sustainably managing water resources (Global Water Partnership, 2018).

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development

It is an economic development program of the African Union, adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Zambia. It aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for accelerating economic cooperation and integration among African countries (African Union, 2001).

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems

This protocol calls for equity and shared responsibility among riparian states in the utilization and management of watercourse systems. Member states are obliged to strive for a higher standard of living for their peoples and the conservation and enhancement of the environment to promote sustainable development. It was signed in 1992 by eight of the 12-member states and revised in 2000 (SADC, 2000).

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme is Africa’s policy framework for agricultural transformation, wealth creation, food security and nutrition, economic growth, and prosperity for all. In Mozambique, in 2003, the African Union Summit made the first declaration on this program as an integral part of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (CAADP, 2003).

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020

In 2010, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. It is a 10-year framework for action by all countries and stakeholders to safeguard biodiversity and the benefits it provides to people (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010).

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management (UNCCD, 1994). The Convention addresses the dry lands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found. The Convention’s 196 parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in dry lands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought. The UNCCD is committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people. Moreover, the UNCCD facilitates cooperation between developed and developing countries, particularly around knowledge and technology transfer.

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. It provides expert advice, training, and grants support to developing countries, with emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations (UNDP, 2018).

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to engaging actively in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, with member states and relevant partners, to promote effective climate and health policies that promote health protection (WHO, 2018). WHO develops discussion papers, guidance documents, and recommendations to improve health protection in international health and climate change negotiations and agreements.

**References:**

- African Union. (2001). New Partnership for Africa's Development.
- CAADP. (2003). Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme.
- Convention on Biological Diversity. (2010). Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020.
- European Commission. (2012). Global Alliance for Resilience Initiative.
- FAO. (2018). Food and Agriculture Organization.
- GEF. (2018). Global Environment Facility.
- Global Water Partnership. (2018). Global Water Partnership.
- SADC. (2000). Southern African Development Community Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems.
- TerrAfrica. (2018). TerrAfrica.
- UNCCD. (1994). United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
- UNCCD. (2018). Strategy to Combat Land Degradation and Desertification.
- UNDP. (2018). United Nations Development Programme.
- United Nations. (2015). 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- WHO. (2018). World Health Organization.