NEWS - THE NAMIBIAN | 2013-07-29, Theresia Tjihenuna
Namibia signs COP11 agreement
NAMIBIA has signed the agreement to host the 11th United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of the Parties (COP11).
Namibia will be the third country in Africa to host the event which will run from 16 to 27 September 2013 at the Windhoek Country Club and Resort. Last Friday the Minister of Foreign Affairs Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah signed a Host Country Agreement with the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, Luc Gnacandja. 
The Host Country Agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the government with regard to the hosting of the event. The COP11 takes place as Namibia experiences its most severe drought yet.
Between 2000 and 3000 delegates from over 195 parties to the UNCCD, UN organisations, inter-governmental and civil society organisations are expected to attend the event. Delegates, who also include scientists and affected communities, will debate and come up with solutions to improve the living conditions of people in dry-lands, maintaining and restoring land and soil productivity and mitigating the effects of drought.
The ministry of foreign affairs says each of the issues to be discussed are critical for Namibia, especially considering the current drought ravaging the country. According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, deforestation for cropland expansion and overgrazing are the major causes of land degradation and desertification. "More than 50% of agricultural land worldwide is affected by desertification and this process is accelerating. Whereas in 1991 just 15% of the earth's total land area was degraded, in 2011, this figure had spiralled to 25%," she said. The ministry said land degradation directly affects 1.5 billion people globally. A total of 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil is lost every year because of cropland erosion, while another 12 million hectares annually is affected by drought and desertification. read more...
Read the Hon Minister's Press Statement as pdf. here...
UNCCD - COP 11, Windhoek/Namibia, 16-22 September 2013, Press Statement