15th Convention of Parties on Desertification and Drought opens in Côte d'Ivoire
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The 15th Convention of the Parties on Desertification and Drought (COP 15) opened in the Ivorian city of Abidjan on Monday with a call for States and development partners to mobilise for the restoration of land and reconstitution of the forest heritage of countries.
"Our people have high hopes in us. We have no right to disappoint them. Let's act quickly, let's act together to give new life to our land," Alassane Ouattara, president of Cote d'Ivoire said at the official opening ceremony that was attended by about a dozen heads of state.
President Ouattara said faced with the threat of land degradation and drought, it is essential to adopt policies that support the resilience of populations, especially the most vulnerable.
It is also essential, he said, to accelerate the implementation of the major decisions of the Paris Climate Agreement.
"In this regard, I would like to reiterate my call on developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, to keep the commitment to mobilise US$100 billion per year to help developing countries succeed in their adaptation to climate change and their energy transition," he appealed.
President Ouattara congratulated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for setting up the Sustainability Trust Fund to help vulnerable countries facing structural challenges that present macroeconomic risks such as climate change and pandemics.
On this basis, the Ivorian President urged donor countries, in a spirit of international solidarity, to contribute financially to the IMF trust fund, as well as to the UN Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.
He also praised the leadership of his Nigerian counterpart, Muhammadu Buhari, who heads the "Green Wall" project, which aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land in Africa over an 8,000 km strip south of the Sahara.
President Ouattara urged leaders to go further and mobilise new partners, particularly private sector companies involved in the value chains of agricultural products.
According to available data, land degradation affects 52% of agricultural land, threatening the existence of 2.6 billion people who depend on agriculture.
Desertification and drought cause the loss of 12 million hectares each year, or almost 23 hectares per minute. Land degradation directly affects 74% of the world's poor.
-0- PANA TNDDT/IS/BBA/MA 10May2022
