IFAP report of the Committee for the Review of Implementation (CRIC )

November 28, 2002

 

IFAP participated for the first time in the first session of the Committee for the Review of Implementation (CRIC), which convened on Monday, November 11 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome. The CRIC’s deliberations concluded on November 22.

 

The first week of the CRIC session was devoted to case studies presented by the five CCD regions focusing on seven key themes: participatory processes involving civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and basic community organizations (BCOs); legislative and institutional frameworks; links and synergy with other environmental conventions and, as the case may be, with national development strategies; measures aimed at soil reclamation and rehabilitation; monitoring and evaluation of drought and desertification; early-warning systems to mitigate the impact of drought; access by the countries affected that are Parties, especially the developing nations that are Parties, to the appropriate technologies, information and know-how; and the mobilization and coordination of national and international resources, including the conclusion of partnership agreements.

 

During the second week, delegates met by region to draw conclusions from the previous week’s discussions. An interactive dialogue began on the lessons learned and led to recommendations to Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Caribbean, the Northern Mediterranean and Central and Eastern Europe, and other Parties affected. A Global Interactive Dialogue was held on Wednesday, November 20, followed by the declarations presented at a plenary session.

 

On Thursday, November 21, delegates assembled on a drafting committee to negotiate concrete conclusions and recommendations concerning impending steps to implement the CCD. The final plenary session took place on Friday, November 22 and was devoted to the adoption of the work program of the second CRIC session and the report established by the CRIC to the Conference of Parties, including the conclusions and recommendations (ICCD/CRIC(1)/L.1). The CRIC’s recommendations will be submitted to the sixth session of Cop-6 planned in September 2003.

 

Three members of the Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori (CIA), Eleonora della Noche, Nicola Stolfi and Domenico Mastrogiovanni, and Nora Ourabah, who is responsible for IFAP environmental and sustainable development initiatives, represented IFAP at the event, to ensure follow-up to the entire session. Given IFAP’s involvement in the task force on desertification headed by the Centre d’action et de réalisations internationales (CARI), an association based in Montpellier, Nora Ourabah participated in two parallel meetings. The first meeting assembled a European task force, the ENID*, one of whose objectives was to foster reflection on the recommendations to be presented at the Global Interactive Dialogue both on the process of the CRIC’s organization and their assessment of the contents of the presentations of the regional reports. The second meeting included a senior official from the Global Mechanism.

 

Among the recommendations presented during the second week, the establishment of a permanent consultative procedure between the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and all groups in civil society designated on their behalf seems necessary to ensure greater representativeness of its various components. As of today, the International NGO Network on Desertification (RIOD) and its network of NGOs is the UNCCD Secretariat’s only interlocutor. The RIOD promotes and bolsters participation by civil society in implementation at all levels of the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), especially in conjunction with National Action Programmes (NAP). It would be desirable for organizations that are representative of certain categories in civil society to establish a major group at forthcoming CRIC meetings. In this case, we could propose that IFAP speak on behalf of farmers at the UNCCD Secretariat.

 

The CRIC meeting also examined the question of participation by civil society in this type of undertaking. The implementation of a follow-up and evaluation methodology based on both biophysical and socio-economic indicators is crucial. The NAPs were perceived as sectoral programs lacking in socio-economic tools that measure the role of local populations in combating desertification. The fight against desertification is clearly inextricably linked to the fight against poverty and is a linchpin in sustainable development. The process of implementing the UNCCD should shed additional light on these links.  

 

Enclosed are a copy of the ENID recommendations to the CRIC and a copy of the interview with a senior official from the Global Mechanism. You can access the regional reports and other UNCCD-related documents and the CRIC by consulting the Convention Web site (http://www.unccd.int/main.php). We will send you the final CRIC documents as soon as they become available.

 

Yours truly,

 

 

Nora Ourabah

Head of IFAP environmental and sustainable development initiatives

 

 

*     European Network Initiative on Desertification, comprising NGOs based in Europe that operate in countries affected by desertification.