Article sourced from www.environment.gov.za
The Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism Rejoice Mabudafhasi launched the International Year of Deserts and
Desertification in Madibaneng, Sekhunkhune in Limpopo
on 16 March 2006.
The UN General Assembly, at its 58th ordinary meeting,
declared 2006 the International year of Deserts and Desertification
(IYDD). The main objective of the IYDD
is to convey the message that desertification is a major threat to humanity and
launch the fight against it as a global sustainable development challenge.
Speaking during the launch the Deputy Minister said
that the year seeks to celebrate the unique ecosystem and cultural diversity of
deserts worldwide, therefore establishing a clear difference between the need
to protect deserts as unique natural habitats and fight against desertification
as a global sustainable development challenge.
One of the highlights of the event was the handing
over of a R5 million cheque to the community of Madibaneng for a soil
rehabilitation project. The project activities are designed to be sustainable
by means of training the community in land management, business management as
well as techniques on how to monitor and follow up the land improvements. Other
key objectives of the project include:
- Improving livestock management and create a livestock market in the area
- Reversing the process of land degradation through erosion and water run-off,
re-vegetation as well as limited grazing
- Limiting further erosion in the area
- Improving the agricultural production systems of at least 110 households through irrigation systems
- Creating 3 SMME's in the sector of nursery, fencing and land rehabilitation.
Land degradation affects one third of the planet's
land surface and around one billion people in over one hundred countries. Land degradation and desertification projects
and programmes do not happen in isolation but are integrated with other
programmes, the implementation of the NAP is dependant upon initiatives and
programmes like Working for Fire (WfW), Working on Fire (WonFire), Landcare,
Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM), People and Parks and other
trans-boundary initiatives.
Land degradation is obviously not only about land, it
is about the people said Mabudafhasi. Millions of people are directly affected
by natural resource degradation and many of them live below the poverty line.
She went on to say that rural communities depend on these natural resources for
survival yet the capacity of our country’s land, water and biological resources
to sustain its people is eroding.
The IYDD launch will culminate into a roll out of an annual campaign on desertification throughout the country.
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