National Awareness seminar on desertification

The Multilateral Affairs Department and the Environment Protection Department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Environment, in collaboration with the Interim Secretariat for the Convention to Combat Desertification, are organising a National Awareness Seminar on Desertification and Land Degradation. This Seminar is being held on 3 and 4 June 1998 at the Aula Magna, Foundation for International Studies of the University of Malta, Valletta.

This Seminar is being held in view of the guidelines as proposed by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This Convention stems from the United Nations Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and is an innovative document and a major achievement of the international community. On its part, the Government of Malta, after signing this Convention in October 1994, ratified on 30 January 1998.

The basis of the Convention is the commitment of affected countries to prepare and implement action programmes to prevent land degradation and desertification. The focus is on the participation of people, and to enable people to prevent and reverse land degradation. In fact its eventual success lies in the promotion of environmental awareness amongst the public. For this reason awareness campaigns are needed to inform people about the challenges brought by desertification and the opportunities presented by the Convention.

Inappropriate use of land in the Maltese Islands including overgrazing, lack of proper cultivation methods and summer fires has led to land degradation. The objectives of the Seminar are to identify the challenges brought about by desertification and to share the latest developments concerning pro-active and remedial measures. Furthermore, it is intended to convey the Convention's message to decision-makers within Government Departments and other institutions, and to give a clear idea of their respective roles in the implementation of the national action programme to combat land degradation in the Maltese Islands.