Plan of Action to Combat Desertification.

34. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE
184. Plan of Action to Combat Desertification

The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 32/172 of 19 December 1977 and 33/89 of 15 December 1978, concerning, respectively, the report of the United Nations Conference on Desertification [1]2and the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification [2] Taking note of the relevant parts of the report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the work of its seventh session and its decision on measures to combat desertification, [3] Taking note also of the report of the SecretaryGeneral on additional measures and means of financing for the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, [4] Stressing the urgency of implementing the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification in view of the acute seriousness of the problem in many countries, particularly developing countries, and of the limited resources which it has thus far been possible to mobilize to combat desertification,

1. Takes note with satisfaction of the opening by the Secretary-General on 15 March 1979 of the Special Account for financing the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, bearing in mind the voluntary nature of that account;

2. Notes with concern the lack of adequate financial resources for the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification and the slow progress achieved thus far;

3. Also notes with concern that no contribution to the Special Account has been made thus far;

4. Calls upon donor Governments and financing organizations to contribute generously to the Special Account, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

5. Expresses its appreciation to the United Nations Environment Programme for its work in co-operation with Governments and interested organizations of the United Nations system within the framework of its responsibilities as co-ordinator for the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

6. Calls upon donor countries and interested organizations to participate actively in the work of the Consultative Group for Desertification Control and to support the projects submitted to them through the Consultative Group;

7. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth session a report, on the basis of a study to be prepared by a group of high-level specialists in international financing to be convened by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, which will deal with:

(a) A complete inventory of relevant ideas and proposals put forward in the United Nations system of possible new ways and means to finance programmes of multilateral organizations at the world level, additional to regular assessed budgets and conventional extra-budgetary resources;

(b) A financial plan and analysis outlining the components and costs of a programme to stop further desertification and identifying what is already being financed and what additional resources may be needed to meet the minimum objectives of stopping the spread of desertification;

(c) Methods for the mobilization of domestic resources;

(d) The practicality of obtaining loans from Governments and world capital markets on a concessionary basis;

(e) The feasibility of the creation of a public international corporation which would attract investments from countries as well as institutions and would provide financing for suitable anti-desertification projects with non-commercial rates of return;

(f) The means for encouraging the active participation of foundations in the financing of anti-desertification training and research programmes.

107th plenary meeting
18 December 1979

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[1] A/CONF.74/36. [2] Ibid., chap. 1. [3] See Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 25 (A/34/25). [4] A/34/575.