Naples
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17 June 2020
Parent Category: Iniziative (EN) -
Category: Federazione Anna Lindh Italia - Onlus (EN)
The Fondazione Mediterraneo and the Federation Anna Lindh Italia non-profit organization have launched a heartfelt appeal to young people for the protection of the earth and for the fight against desertification.
Meetings and debates were held at the Museum of Peace - MAMT - in compliance with the security measures dictated by the pandemic - with the participation of a selected number of primary school students sensitized on the issues of fighting desertification and safeguarding the planet.
In order to raise awareness among governments, organizations and individuals about collective responsibility for the sustainable use of water and to prevent desertification and drought, the United Nations General Assembly in 1995, with Resolution A / RES / 49/115 , chose June 17 to celebrate the World Day against Desertification and Drought. On the same day, in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was adopted in Paris, ratified by 200 countries. The aim of the Convention is to mitigate the effects of drought through international cooperation activities and partnership agreements in the most affected countries, particularly in Africa. The strategies put in place focus on improving soil productivity and sustainable management of land and water resources. According to a UNCCD study, we lose 24 billion tons of fertile land every year and 15 billion trees every hour, and 1.5 billion people derive their livelihood from land that is at risk of desertification. The practices considered unsustainable are monocultures, the use of chemicals and excessive grazing.
Various initiatives are planned all over the world on the occasion of the Day.
Italy ratified its membership of the UNCCD in 1997, both as a donor country and as a country affected by desertification. The National Drought and Desertification Committee (CNLSD) was established in 1997 by the Ministry of the Environment with the task of coordinating the implementation of the Convention in Italy. The Inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) in 1999 adopted the National Action Program for the fight against drought and desertification, which identifies the strategies to be implemented both at state and regional level to combat desertification and drought in Italy. In particular, the program is spread over four sectors: soil protection, sustainable management of water resources, reduction of the impact of production activities and rebalancing of the territory.
According to Legambiente, the regions at high risk are Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily. The situation is particularly serious in Sardinia, where the danger of desertification affects as many as 52% of the regional territory, of which 11% already affected.
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A celebratory ceremony was held on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of the establishment of the headquarters for the South Bank of the Mediterranean Foundation with the Academy of the Mediterranean - Maison de la Méditerranée.
