Plan of Action to Combat Desertification : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Plan of Action to Combat Desertification

  A Implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 32/172 of 19 December 1977, by which it approved the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, Recalling also paragraph 8 of its resolution 38/165 of 19 December 1983, by which it welcomed section VIII of decision 11/1 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to devote two days, during its twelfth session, to a detailed assessment of the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, Taking note of Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/65 of 26 July 1984 on the Implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, Having considered the views of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the general assessment of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, 1978-1984, Having also considered Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/72 of 27 July 1984 on environment and development in Africa, Bearing in mind the current serious problem of prolonged drought and desertification that has contributed to the widespread economic catastrophe in a large number of African countries south of the Sahara,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the views of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the general assessment of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, 1978-1984;

2. Also takes note with appreciation of the report of the Governing Council on the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

3. Takes note with interest of Governing Council decision 12/10 of 28 May 1984 on desertification;

4. Notes with great concern that, during the seven years since the United Nations Conference on Desertification in 1977, desertification has continued to spread and intensify in developing countries, particularly in Africa;

5. Welcomes the reconfirmation by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme of the validity of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, the reaffirmation of the central role of the programme in catalysing, co-ordinating and assessing the implementation of the Plan of Action at the international level, and the approval by the Governing Council of concrete, time-bound activities to combat desertification over the next fifteen years;

6. Decides to expand the role of the Consultative Group for Desertification Control, which is financed from voluntary contributions, to include explicitly responsibility for advising the Executive Director on:

(a) The progress and effectiveness of activities implemented under the Plan of Action, identifying constraints and possible solutions to problems, taking account of relevant evaluations and case studies;

(b) Programme priorities of the United Nations Environment Programme related to problems of desertification;

(c) Measures required to improve implementation of the Plan of Action on a regional and world-wide basis;

7. Calls upon the Consultative Group for Desertification Control to intensify further its efforts to assist the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme in the mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Plan of Action;

8. Urges Governments of countries prone to or suffering from desertification to give priority to the establishment of national programmes to combat desertification and to consider setting up appropriate national machinery or assigning responsibility to existing national machinery, where appropriate, to that end;

9. Requests the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to examine, at its thirteenth session, the possibility of:

(a) The inclusion of reference to the United Republic of Tanzania in the terms of reference of the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office in order to enable that country to receive assistance in the implemention of programmes for combating desertification;

(b) The expansion of the scope of the work of the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office so as to enable it to assist the States members of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference in implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme on combating desertification and drought, in the same way as the Office is currently assisting the States members of the Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel;

10. Urges all Governments to increase their assistance, inter alia, by financing regional and subregional programmes, through appropriate channels, including the Special Account created under General Assembly resolution 32/172 of 19 December 1977 to countries suffering from desertification;

11. Endorses the decision of the Governing Council in paragraph 28 of its decision 12/10 that a further overall assessment of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification should be carried out in 1992.

B Implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian Region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 36/190 of 17 December 1981, 37/216 of 20 December 1982 and 38/164 of 19 December 1983, Taking note of decision 12/10 of 28 May 1984 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, Taking note of Economic and Social Council resolutions 1984/65 of 26 July 1984 on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification and 1984/72 of 27 July 1984 on the environment and development in Africa, Taking note also of the inclusion of Ghana and Togo in the list of countries to be covered by the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office under the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, Having considered the report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, Bearing in mind the special review undertaken by the Governing Council of the progress made in implementing the Plan of Action, based, inter alia, on the general assessment by the Executive Director of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action, 1978-1984, and on the document on the assessment of desertification in the Sudano-Sahelian region, Aware that the prime responsibility in the struggle against desertification and the effects of drought rests upon the countries concerned, and noting the efforts of those countries to combat desertification and drought,

1. Takes note of the report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

2. Notes with concern:

(a) That the persistent drought in the Sahel has intensified and spread into other parts of Africa, assuming the catastrophic proportions of a generalized drought;

(b) That the inadequacy of financial resources continues to place a serious constraint on the fight against desertification;

(c) That struggle against desertification requires financial and human resources beyond the means of the affected countries;

3. Expresses its appreciation of the progress made towards overcoming these obstacles by the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme, as part of a joint action by the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme to assist the Governments of the region in combating desertification;

4. Expresses its appreciation also for the efficient and co-ordinated manner in which the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme have continued to develop this joint action through the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office;

5. Requests the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme to continue to provide and increase their support to the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office in order to enable it to respond fully to the urgent needs of the countries of the Sudano-Sahelian region;

6. Expresses its gratitude to the Governments, United Nations bodies, intergovernmental organizations and other organizations which have contributed to the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

7. Emphasizes the need to redouble the efforts in order to implement the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification in the Sudano-Sahelian region and urges all Governments to respond favourably to the requests submitted by the Governments of the countries of the Sudano-Sahelian region for assistance in combating desertification;

8. Requests the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to make the necessary arrangements at each session for submitting a report to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification.