The UN General assembly declared 2006 “International Year of Deserts and Desertification” (IYDD). The 10th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will also be marked in countries experiencing drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the most affected countries in Africa. Poverty and food shortage are most chronic problems. The root causes of these problems are the depletion of the natural resources and decline of agricultural productivity. The problem in Ethiopia is multifaceted. Many of the problems are manifested due to lack of awareness and lack of means to alleviate or reduce the risk.

The government of Ethiopia, as party to the UNCCD and based on the decision made at the 7th Conference of the Parties (COP7) in Nairobi, decided to commemorate and celebrate the International Year of Deserts and Desertification on June 17, 2006 in the capital of Afar regional state, Samera.

The objective of the celebration is mainly to commemorate IYDD and to create a forum for stakeholders to discuss the current efforts and how to responsibly respond and act on the root causes of desertification by exchanging information on current activities and technologies particularly with the public of the Afar region.

Participants will come from the Afar region, zones and weredas. The president of the Afar regional state will attend the event with his regional, zonal and wereda officials. In addition to this, a total of 22 people will participate in the celebration including representatives from key federal Ministries and offices, journalists, representatives from the Royal Norwegian Embassy including the ambassador, and DCG members.

The celebration will include the following events:

• Welcome address and opening remarks by the Afar regional state EPA head followed by an official opening by H.E. Ismael Alisero, president of the Afar regional state.
• The deputy director of Federal EPA will speak about the world desertification day and the UNCCD focal person for will speak on the implementation status of the UNCCD/NAP in Ethiopia.
• A statement is expected by the Norwegian Ambassador to Ethiopia. Another Norwegian embassy representative will talk about the support of the Norwegian government to implement the UNCCD/NAP in Ethiopia. An FAO representative will also share information on the Norwegian government supported project dealing with natural resource management in Afar.
• Ethiopia members from REST and Mekelle University will present two technical papers based on the results of recent studies conducted in Afar and Tigray regions.
• Field visits will also be organized at two sites (Tendaho and Gerjele).

The world desertification day will also be celebrated in in the following ways:

• Federal EPA is preparing a stamp based on the decision from COP7 in Nairobi.
• DCG Ethiopia and EPA will create public awareness by magnifying and popularizing the event by using leaflets, posters, banners, T-shirts and caps. Moreover, school children from Afar will also present songs related to IYDD.
• DCG Ethiopia is planning to show films in the evening.
• Informal discussions between DCG members and EPA experts on the current and future implementation of UNCCD/NAP will be conducted if the environmental conditions allows (i.e. the conditions are very harsh/hot).
• A press conference will also take place where possibly a position paper by DCG Ethiopia will be shared with the public.

Source: FEPA Ethiopia

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