Sustainability

Fighting against desertification

The 1992 Rio conference produced the Agenda 21, an agreement containing a set of measures for the 21st century, locally applicable and aiming at addressing a global issue that could only be solved by combining economic development, the protection of the environment and social growth.
On December 26th 1996, a UN Agreement came into effect, proposing a partnership-based approach to be implemented through initiatives involving international co-operation; the common purpose is to improve the productivity of the farmland, to reclaim and preserve it and to manage water and soil in a sustainable manner. The measures taken tend to give priority to those projects that have been expressly developed for specific areas, by emphasising the involvement of the local communities, the restoration of precious traditional customs and the reappraisal of the role played by the rural communities to prevent the deterioration of the land. In addition, while in the past more emphasis was laid on technical solutions, now problems are addressed as global issues, in view of the relentless population increase and a number of political and socio-economic factors.
A number of UN organisations are addressing the desertification issue world-wide, such as the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), the IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), the UN Development Program (UNDP), the World Meteorological Organisation, the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).