. Earth Science News .
CLIMATE SCIENCE
UN official demands drought action at Cancun

by Staff Writers
Fortaleza (AFP) Aug 18, 2010
The UN's pointman on desertification called Wednesday on participants at the next climate summit in Cancun to take urgent measures to prevent future disasters by staving off land degradation.

"Those most vulnerable to climate change live in the driest parts of the globe: look at what is happening in Pakistan where the rain should come as a blessing and ends up being a curse," Luc Gnacadja told AFP.

"We ask ourselves why efforts are concentrated on protecting the forests, while we know that what drives deforestation is land degradation. If we do not find a response to land degradation, which gets worse with desertification, people will continue to cut down trees."

Gnacadja, the executive secretary of UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), called for a "serious accord" by the end of the year.

A new UN conference is due to be held in the Mexican resort of Cancun to try to build on a loose accord hammered out at marathon talks in Copenhagen in December last year that were widely regarded as a failure.

Cancun will host negotiators from November 29 to December 10 who are set to discuss a binding agreement on reducing carbon dioxide emissions that will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in December 2012.

Drought currently affects at least 41 percent of the planet and environmental degradation has caused it to spike by 15 to 25 percent since 1990, according to experts.

Gnacadja has warned that drought could parch close to 70 percent of the planet's soil by 2025 unless countries implement policies to slow desertification.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


CLIMATE SCIENCE
New Study Examines Effects Of Drought In The Amazon
Falmouth MA (SPX) Aug 04, 2010
Recent research surrounding the impact of drought in the Amazon has provided contradictory findings as to how tropical forests react to a drier and warmer climate. A new study published in the August 2 Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) examines the response of Amazon forests to variations in climate conditions, specifically considering how those ch ... read more







CLIMATE SCIENCE
UN to meet on Pakistan aid, 4.6 million without shelter

'Terrorists' cannot be allowed to exploit floods: Pakistan

Aid begins to flow to flood-ravaged Pakistan

Aid response to Pakistan floods inadequate

CLIMATE SCIENCE
"Fahrenheit 451" author burns at idea of digital books

Safer Plastics That Lock In Potentially Harmful Plasticizers

Power Problem With Insat-4B

Colorado Space Grant Consortium And LockMart To Develop CubeSat

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Great Barrier Reef had predecessor

Massive Coral Mortality Following Bleaching In Indonesia

Slowing Urban Sprawl, Adding Forests Curb Floods And Help Rivers

How Algae 'Enslavement' Threatens Freshwater Bodies

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Resolving The Paradox Of The Antarctic Sea Ice

Indonesian Ice Field May Be Gone In A Matter Of Years

Puzzle of Antarctic ice solved?

Giant Greenland iceberg a climate 'warning sign'

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Greenhouse Gas Calculator Connects Farming Practices With Carbon Credits

Russian food prices jump amid heatwave: official

Germans To Help With New Food Zapping Process

Arsenic In Field Runoff Linked To Poultry Litter

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Latest China mudslides leave 14 dead, dozens missing

More than 60 missing in latest China mudslides

GRIP 'Shakedown' Flight Planned Over Gulf Coast

More than 60 missing in latest China mudslides

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Congolese army says two arrested over Indian UN slayings

Guinea-Bissau "ashamed" of incompetent image: president

Nigerian electric rates prompt review

Chinese-Rwandan military ties deepen

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Growing Up Without Sibs Doesn't Hurt Social Skills

Oldest Evidence Of Stone Tool Use And Meat-Eating Among Human Ancestors

The Worst Impact Of Climate Change May Be How Humanity Reacts To It

Stone tools used by earliest 'butchers'


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement