19 November 2008: Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the
UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) addressed the African
Conference of Ministers in Charge of Environment on Climate Change for
Post-2012, and underscored the urgency of incorporating land and soil into the
climate change dialogue.

The 19-20 November 2008 meeting is taking place in
Algiers, Algeria, and is addressing issues related to, inter alia: the Bali
Action Plan; the meaning and scope of the concepts of “comparable efforts” and
“shared vision” for developing countries; and the concepts of measurable,
verifiable and reportable for developed and developing countries.
Executive
Secretary Gnacadja emphasized that “The Bali Plan of Action explicitly provides
‘to take into account the future needs of African countries affected by
desertification, drought and floods’,” and said that Africa must mobilize to
create tools and platforms to take on the challenge. He called attention to the
potential of carbon sequestration to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and
emphasized its role in simultaneously addressing other global issues such as
biodiversity conservation, food security and poverty alleviation.
He added
that, “with the science and technology now available, agreeing on measurable
reportable and verifiable concepts to sequester carbon into soils is possible,
doable, and should therefore not be delayed.” [Meeting website] [UNCCD
Press Release]