2006 – THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR

                     OF DROUGHTS AND DESERTIFICATION

 

17 TH  JUNE - THE WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION

 

     The desertification is considered one of the most important global economic problems, especially because of the mutual relationship between the soil degradation and yield.

     According to the assessment of UN Program for Environment, due to the desertification there had been serious affected more than 40 mln. ha. Over 900 mln. of people are exposed to the negative influence of desertification each year.

     Due to the global climate warming, the droughts become more and more frequent and intensive, involving new yields.

The seriousness of these problems (droughts and desertification) on world level and the need to combat these natural calamities on international level led to the adoption of the UN Convention to Combat Droughts and Desertification, on 17th June 1994, in Paris, which entered into force in December 1996. So far, 186 countries adhered to the Convention, and the 17th June became the World day to combat droughts and desertification.

       General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, at its 58th session on 23 December 2003, adopted the 211 Resolution, which declared the 2006th year – “The international year of droughts and desertification”.

     Thus, the celebration of the 17th June 2006 – the World day to combat droughts and desertification focuses to the international year of droughts and desertification with the generic “The Beauty of the Desert – Provocation for Desertification”.

     As we know, the dry regions are like shelters for the most beautiful ecosystems in the whole world – the deserts. These original habitats with a diverse fauna and flora were as shelter starting with the oldest civilizations in the world. It may be compared with the open air museums.

The goal of the Convention is to combat the desertification and minimize the drought’s consequences in countries exposed to these processes.

     Observing the earth degradation danger which is growing up, the Republic of Moldova adhered to the ONU Convention to Combat Droughts and Desertification on 24 December 1998 through Parliaments Decision nr. 257 – XIV. According to this decision, „The National Action Program to combat desertification in the Republic of Moldova” has been elaborated and approved by the Government’s Decision nr. 367 on 13 April 2000.

     For a better understanding of this problem, I would like to cite some data:

     1.     The area of the territories affected by erosion exceeds over 1 mln. ha., of ravines –

24 thousands ha, and of those territories exposed to landslides – 80 thousands ha, the annual loss caused by erosion consists of 221 mln. US dollars;

    2.     The humus balance is in deficiency, the humus reserves are annual decreasing with 1 t/ha, the reserves of the nutritive elements with 180 – 200 kg/ha;

      3.     In a sad state the irrigation and drainage systems are.

The mentioned program is provided for:

         ·        the definition of factors which contributes to the intensification of desertification;

           ·        the elaboration and realization of practical activities to combat desertification and mitigation of drought’s consequences,

            ·        the conservation of soil’ fertility that is affected by the desertification processes.

 

     According to the National Action Program, there were fixed concrete issues and strict deadlines to be met by the relative ministries and local and public administrative authorities. 

     The majority of these problems are realized by local economical agents for the expenditure of budget allocated for this purpose.

Some activities of the National Action Program were integrated into the documents below, being adopted by the Parliament and Government of the RM in order to protect the environment and improve the welfare system of the population.

     Among the most important national programs and plans approved in the Republic of Moldova in the period 2002 - 2006, on environmental protection and to combat desertification the following can be mentioned:

           ·        The Government Decision nr. 636 of 26.05.2003 regarding the approval of the Program to define new territories and increase land' fertility, 1st part “The amelioration of degraded territories”;

          ·        The Parliament Decision nr. 325-XV of 18.07.2003 on the approval of the national politic concept on the water resources.

           ·       The Government Decision nr. 739 of 17 June 2003 “According to the implementation of the long-term development strategy in the national forestry sector”;

        ·        The Government Decision nr. 447 of 17.04.2003 on the approval of the National insurance and ecological security Program;

         ·        The Government Decision nr. 737 of 17.06.2003 about the Regeneration and Afforestation in the period of time 2003 – 2020 State Program approbation;

         ·        The Government Decision nr. 841 of 26.07.2004 regarding the approval of the Program to define and improve the land fertility; 2nd part “The improvement of the land fertility”.

  The mentioned strategies, plans, concepts and programs foreseen the following large measuring groups to combat the land degradation, the desertification of the territories and the growth of agricultural products:

          ·        The improvement of the institutional framework;

        ·        The improvement of the juridical basis of soil relationship, which could lead to a sustainable use of soil fund, and combat the land degradation and the desertification of the territories;

        ·        The implementation of an integrated system of actions and measures to combat soil degradation, land desertification and a continue growth of the agricultural production;

         ·        The scientific assurance of the actions complex to combat the soil degradation and desertification of the territories.

     These large groups of actions results from the strategy’s objectives to combat desertification and have a goal to create the premises for the efficient politic advancement in this field and the successful accomplishment of sectorial activities oriented to re-establish the ecologic balance, to anti-erosion development of the territory on landscape principles, to prevent and combat all erosion and landslides forms, amelioration of salted and depredated soils, exclude the social inadequate activities implementing the agricultural sustainable system.

     As result of the accession to the UN Convention to combat drought and desertification, the Republic of Moldova benefited by financial and technical support in the elaboration of the National Action Program to combat desertification; the elaboration of the National Reports regarding the implementation of the UN Convention to combat droughts and desertification (2000, 2002, 2006); the development of the institutional framework on the hydrologic activity in the Republic of Moldova.

     The National Ecological Fund, which is under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources contributed to the integral acquittance accumulated from the non-paid national annual contributions to the Convention.

     The implementation of the UNCCD provisions in the Republic of Moldova is coordinated by the National Focal Point of the Convention.

Within the State Hydrometeorological Service, there was established the National Working Group which includes experts of different fields of national economy to realize the stipulations of the Convention in Republic of Moldova and National Action Program.

     For the realization of the Convention objectives and capacity building there is a necessity to train the population and make them understand the important issues of it through the following:

         ·        The creation of training and ecologic education at all levels of the educational system;

·        The education of people and make them understand the problems on the soil protection and irrational use of soil resources;

       ·        The organization of seminars, exhibitions, conferences and thematic symposiums related to the problems of droughts and desertification;

        ·        The improvement of study program on the ecological planning, rights and management in the educational institutions with specialties in the environment field;

       ·        The collaboration with mass media and active involvement of nongovernmental organization to propagate and realize the objectives of the UN Convention to combat the desertification.

During the 2006 year – The International Year of droughts and desertification, so far there were organized a series of measures in this field in the Republic of Moldova.

     The most important are the following:

 

          ·              The assessment of the 3rd National Report concerning the implementations of the UNCCD stipulations in the Republic of Moldova, starting with 2002 till now.

         ·              The participation of the national UNCCD experts at the seminar in Bulgaria discussing the project on the creation of the Management Drought Centre for countries from South- Eastern Europe.

        ·              The organization, by the National Focal Point of the UNCCD in the Republic of Moldova, of the Validation Seminar of the 3rd National Report regarding the implementation of the Convention’s stipulations, which will be presented this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

       ·              The Organization of the National Seminar “Relevant aspects of the desertification in the Desertification year” moderated by the National Focal Point of the UNCCD, NGO BIOS, REC/Moldova and financed by REC/Moldova.

        ·              The organization of the regional and local seminars, moderated by NGO BIOS and National Federation of farmers of Moldova (FNFM) in the territorial structures of FNFM, and other localities: Criuleni, Edinet, Calarasi, Causeni, Cahul, Hincesti, Soroca, Orhei, Taraclia, Ceadir- Lunga, Glodeni, Ecological College from Chisinau.

         ·              The organization of the Scientific-practical Conference of students from the State Agricultural University of Moldova “The beauty of the deserts, the complexity to combat the desertification”, moderated by NGO BIOS and the State Agricultural University of Moldova.