23 June 2015
Montpellier Declaration Urges Coordinated Action on Climate Change, Land Degradation
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More than 300 participants from 57 countries attending Désertif'actions 2015 (D'a15) - an international civil society forum on combating desertification and land degradation - adopted the Montpellier Declaration, highlighting the “undeniable link” between land degradation, sustainable development and international stability, “in a context of present and future impacts of global warming.”

desertifactions13 June 2015: More than 300 participants from 57 countries attending Désertif’actions 2015 (D’a15) – an international civil society forum on combating desertification and land degradation – adopted the Montpellier Declaration, highlighting the “undeniable link” between land degradation, sustainable development and international stability, “in a context of present and future impacts of global warming.”

The Declaration notes four areas of concern, including: continuing patterns of unsustainable consumption globally and their contribution to the degradation of “60% of the services rendered by ecosystems;” the disappearance of 75% of crop genetic diversity over the past century; the persistent reduction of available arable land for food production; and the “irresponsible and persistent undervaluation of land and agriculture” in climate change negotiations.

It further notes that with 1.5 billion people globally already affected by land degradation, the interlinkages among global warming, land degradation and climate change could result in “a spiral of negative chain effects” on ecosystem services and livelihoods. The Declaration describes the estimated costs for restoring degraded ecosystems – ranging from €33 to 227 per hectare – as “tiny” and notes the added potential benefit of storing 30% of annual carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

The Declaration makes seven broad recommendations for future actions, including the need for: guaranteeing the right to food through immediate rehabilitation of 500 million hectares of degraded land; ensuring implementation of guidelines developed by the UN Committee on World Food Security; safeguarding the interests of local communities in promoting climate-smart agriculture programmes; improving synergies among the three Rio Conventions at the national level; and providing funding for family farming and community-based adaptation under a future climate agreement.

It concludes with participants’ commitments to disseminate the outcomes of D’a15 at the national level as well as the upcoming 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC ) in Paris, France, and COP 12 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Ankara, Turkey.

D’a15 was co-organized by the Centre d’Action et de Réalisations Internationales (CARI), UNCCD and other partners, in Montpellier, France, from 10-13 June 2015. It was preceded by an online consultation and national preparatory meetings in Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Congo, Ivory Coast, India, Iran, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Chad and Tunisia, as well as a regional meeting for the Middle East. [Montpellier Declaration] [Désertif’actions 2015 Website] [Natural Resources and Practice Story on Preparations for Désertif’actions 2015]


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