STATEMENT BY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG AT OPENING OF EXHIBIT ENTITLED “DESERTS AND DESERTIFICATION”

Following is the statement by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, at the opening at the Palais des Nations of an exhibition of paintings entitled “Deserts and Desertification” to mark World Environment Day. It was delivered on his behalf by Pierre Le Loarer, Chief Librarian at the United Nations Office at Geneva:


“It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Palais des Nations this evening on the occasion of the opening of an exhibition entitled “Deserts and Desertification – Beauty and Harshness” to mark World Environment Day of 5 June. The exhibition has been organized jointly by the Permanent Mission of Italy and the Permanent Mission of France and I would like to extend my deep appreciation for their strong and continued support for our Cultural Activities Programme. This commitment is an important illustration of their unwavering dedication to the values and principles of our Organization, as well as the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, “Don’t Desert Drylands!” is a reminder of the harsh reality threatening drylands and their inhabitants around the world, as well as the need for preventing the degradation of our lands into deserts. It is also a welcome reminder that this year is the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, as well as the 10th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Anniversaries usually mark happy occasions but today unfortunately we don’t have much to celebrate, which is all the more reason why commemorating each of these events is all the more important.

Drylands cover 40 percent of our planet and are home to 2 billion people. Today over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification and 1 billion people in over 100 countries are at risk. People living in drylands, 90% of whom live in developing countries, lag far behind the rest of the world in human well-being and development indicators. Indeed, over half of all people living in poverty live in drylands. Across the world, poverty, unsustainable land management and climate change are turning drylands into deserts. Desertification in turn exacerbates and leads to poverty further aggravated by diminished food production, reduced water quality, health problems or loss of livelihoods forcing people to migrate. Ensuing economic, social and political tensions can create conflicts and further increase land degradation.

The causes of desertification are many and complex, ranging from international trade patterns to unsustainable land management practices. In a world of interdependent threats and challenges, desertification is both the result and a contributor to climate change, as well as being a cause and consequence of poverty. Furthermore, poor people in these areas seldom have a political voice and often lack essential services such as health care, education and women are often discriminated against. Hence, integrating environmental considerations into economic and development planning serves as a critical component to achieve long-term sustainable development.

The figures on desertification are not only disturbing but also preventable. Although desertification is hard to reverse, we can protect and restore drylands. As outlined in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, we need to promote effective action through innovative local programmes and supportive international partnerships. We need to focus on awareness raising, education and training to achieve far-reaching changes in behaviours. We also need to address the issue as part of a much broader objective of sustainable development. At the 2005 World Summit world leaders committed themselves to strengthening the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. They agreed that more concerted action was needed to address the causes of desertification. Now we are accountable to converting those promises into concrete actions.

This evening’s exhibition also reminds us of the beauty of the desert. While we must address the growing threat that desertification represents for mankind, this year also seeks to celebrate the unique ecosystem and cultural diversity of deserts worldwide with a need to protecting them as unique natural habitat. Arno Boueilh’s paintings are very fitting since they illustrate not only the harshness of our deserts but their spectacular beauty. Indeed, deserts support a specialized diversity of life, as well as humankind’s most ancient cultures. We can protect our deserts and do our utmost to prevent their expansion, to rehabilitate degraded lands and to improve living conditions in the world’s drylands. On this triple occasion of the World Environment Day, the International Year of Deserts and Desertification and the 10th Anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, let us reiterate our commitment to protecting our drylands”.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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