1. U N C C D Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, November 1 2010 Regional briefing on rural development ----------------------- Links between desertification, climate change, shortage of land and impacts on food security ------------------- Boubacar Cisse, UCR-Africa, Tunis

2. U N C C D Desertification: what is it? “Desertification means the degradation of land in the arid, semi-arid and dry under- watered zones caused by a range of factors including climatic variations and human activities” (See Art 1 UNCCD) Land degradation = “reduction or disappearance of biological or economic productivity which the land cannot recover by itself without help.”

3. U N C C D –1.9 billion ha have been degraded since 1950 globally. –Loss of soil fertility Current situation

4. U N C C D Degradation and improvement of land at world level 1981 – 2006 - Cf. GLADA Report, ISRIC 2008 Improvement of the land has been identified on around 16% of cultivable land worldwide, mainly in the arid zones. But this is fragile because of climate change.

5. U N C C D Degradation of land and greenhouse gas emissions The degradation of the land contributes to the process of climate change: agriculture and a variety of land uses contribute more than 1/3 of the world GG emissions.

6. U N C C D Changes in agricultural productivity by 2080 due to climate change Source “Environmental Food Crisis” UNEP - 2009

7. U N C C D “A 50% increase in food production is needed by 2030” – FAO But -world cereal production in 2008: 380 kg/pers. i.e. 1kg/day -food production is growing faster than the population Food security: a challenge for the international community The world food system under pressure: Source UNCCD from World Bank Food Population

8. U N C C D => Theoretical satisfaction of world food needs today and tomorrow Yet hunger is already affecting 1 billion people and more than 25,000 die every day of hunger or its consequences. Food security: a challenge for the international community

9. U N C C D Limits to production: –Unfair competition between producers from the North and the South –The area of cultivable land available to feed an inhabitant diminishes every year. Food security: a challenge for the international community The world food system under pressure 19612007 World0,370,21-42% PMA0,450,20-56% ASS0,590,25-58% In ha/pers – Source : World Bank

10. U N C C D Food security: the land degradation challenge Because of desertification and droughts 12 million hectares are lost per year, which is the resource needed to produce 20 million tonnes of cereals (UNEP, 2007)

11. U N C C D Summing up: facts and figures… 2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture. 52% of the land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by land degradation. 4 to 6 million ha of cultivated land (i.e. the area of Switzerland or Togo) are lost each year because of human-caused land degradation. Land degradation threatens biodiversity Climate change: agriculture and a variety of land uses are responsible for over 1/3 of world GG emissions The arid zones comprise 41% of the land surface of the earth (and we can expect that to grow) and are home to 1/3 of the world population. The GDP of the arid zones is 50% lower than the non-arid zones. Today, 2.8 billion people are in a serious water stress situation.

12. U N C C D To mobilise the necessary resources through effective partnerships between all players 4 The ten-year strategy and political framework of the UNCCD 2 To improve the state of the affected ecosystems To generate world-level benefits 3 1 To improve the living conditions of the affected populations Sustainable Land Management and land rehabilitation must be undertaken at grass roots level. All partners must take charge of the shift needed for effective implementation. Sustainable Land Management and land rehabilitation must be undertaken at grass roots level. All partners must take charge of the shift needed for effective implementation.

13. U N C C D The UNCCD “2+9” impact indicators Mandatory 1. Proportion of the population in the affected zone living below the poverty threshold 2. State of plant cover Optional 1. Availability of water per inhabitant in the affected zones 2. Change in land use 3. Child malnutrition and/or food consumption/calorific input per inhabitant in the affected zones 4. Human Development Index (HDI) 5. Level of land degradation (including salt pollution, wind erosion and soil erosion, etc.) 6. Plant and animal biodiversity 7. Aridity index 8. Surface and sub-soil carbon storage 9. Proportion of the land managed in a sustainable fashion

14. U N C C D

15. Thank you