Participants at a conference in Beijing have adopted a statement addressing priorities for action and other issues relating to women and desertification.

The Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the governments of Algeria, China and Italy organized the Beijing International Conference on Women and Desertification, which met from 29 May – 1 June 2006. The meeting was one of several marking the 2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD). Over 100 participants from approximately 50 countries discussed challenges and opportunities for women in drylands and the Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth World Conference on Women, among other agenda items. Following an opening ceremony attended by approximately 400 individuals and a roundtable discussion with ministers from Bulgaria, Algeria and China among other governmental representatives, participants broke into three thematic working groups to identify potential elements for a Beijing Statement, which was adopted by the conference. The Beijing Statement addresses: institutional issues, including ways to use the intersessional intergovernmental working group (IIWG) and Ad Hoc Working Group to follow-up on the Beijing discussions; main priorities for action, including water and resource management, energy, food security, health and education; funding mechanisms; monitoring; and implementation mechanisms. Participants also recommended that the Beijing Statement be placed on the COP-8 agenda and that a follow-up meeting be organized in two years.
Link to further information
IYDD website