By Kwaak Je-yup
The standards of monitoring land degradation will be the key topic of discussion at the 10th Conference of Parties (COP 10) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), according to its Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja.
“Whenever we say land degradation is a problem, scientists contest it,” said Gnacadja at a roundtable press conference at the Press Center in downtown Seoul, on Thursday. “The goal for COP 10 is to have a consensus... on the methodology of monitoring.”
The dissenting views against studies linking low-quality land with environmental hazard have commonly targeted faulty observation techniques.
With a new standard at COP 10, the room for disagreement decreases, helped by the participation of the scientists themselves.
Gnacadja was adamant that deforestation is a crucial issue that needs to be immediately addressed by all countries.
“Forests precede civilization. Deserts follow it,” said Gnacadja, loosely quoting French writer Chateaubriand. “Humanity is the only desert-making species.”
Land, he said, needs to be considered as a “finite” natural resource that is in fast depletion.
“We’ve been degrading usable land at 1 percent per year,” he said. “Not for the sake of climate change, but for the sake of life. We must build a land degradation-neutral life.”
Bringing together scientists, experts, government officials and policymakers, the biennial UNCCD COP review of the convention’s implementation for the 193 member nations and the European Commission is coming to Asia for the first time. The forum takes place at the Changwon Convention Center in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, from October 10 to 21.
Korea’s hosting of the conference has extra significance, as it is one of the few countries in the world that has increasing forest coverage, coming up from 16 percent in the 1960s to now over 60 percent, according to Gnacadja.
Lee Don-koo, minister of the Korea Forest Service also revealed at the press conference that North Korea has been invited by the UNCCD secretariat, but its participation is pending.
Experts have observed severe deforestation problems north of the DMZ from satellite images, as ordinary citizens have cut down trees for domestic energy needs, due to the lack of any alternatives. About 3 million hectares, scientists say, have been destroyed and at least half of that should be restored to reach a level of sustainability.
“The mood (between the two Koreas) and the right timing are important for us to help,” said Lee.
Gnacadja said participation in COP 10 is open to North Korea, which is a UNCCD member.
“North Korea is welcome,” he said.