Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-05-Speech-3-218"
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"en.20070905.22.3-218"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Ouzký, first I should like to thank you for referring to the Portuguese Presidency’s programme on the environment, specifically on issues relating to drought and desertification. That is actually one of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency and I should now like to point out the results obtained in that area at the informal Council of Environment Ministers held recently in Portugal.
The statement also supports adoption by the Conference of the Parties of the Ten-Year Strategic Plan and urges all the parties to work together to make the United Nations Convention more effective. We therefore think it is very important to set a limited number of priorities as regards implementation selected on the basis of scientific data and to use indicators in order to measure the progress made.
Greater participation by civil society, on the other hand, and improved communication and broader dialogue between all actors will, in our view, also contribute – and significantly so – to the effectiveness of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
I shall not read all of the points in the Presidency’s conclusions on the matter. I do however regard them as very interesting and important and would therefore call your attention to those conclusions, in particular as regards combating drought and the relationship between drought and the environment, and the measures which we could and should take in order to tackle this growing problem.
I should like also to mention in greater detail the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which is also an important feature of this session; that Conference, as you know, is being held now, from 3 to 14 September in Madrid.
On 23 July the Council approved the conclusions setting out the European Union’s priorities – those that the EU must uphold at that Conference of the Parties, which is the eighth conference since the Convention was approved. You will know that the Council supports the adoption, by this eighth Conference of the Parties, of the Ten-Year Strategic Plan and Framework to Enhance the Implementation of the United Nations Convention drawn up by the Intersessional Intergovernmental Working Group, and we are eager to see it implemented.
We are aware that civil society has an important role to play in this context, especially at local level, and we are in favour of that; we must therefore encourage greater participation by all civil society actors in the implementation or in the process of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
You will also know that the Conference of the Parties is to place the emphasis on the relationship between poverty and desertification to pinpoint how the Convention might contribute to combating poverty in close cooperation with other relevant world and regional actors. The Council considers that it is important to reach a consensus on an improved system for monitoring the Convention based on standards for the conservation, management and sustainable use of dry areas. Such a system will make it possible to measure past and present progress.
The Committee on Science and Technology has an essential role to play in improving the Convention’s knowledge base and making it possible to adopt measures and decisions on a more sound foundation. The Council of the European Union considers that the challenges of desertification, climate change and biodiversity are complementary to one another and must be approached in a coordinated manner, with appropriate policies in order to develop synergies and make them more effective. The Council also thinks that other vitally important factors are the availability of adequate financial resources, efficient management and the financing of initiatives to combat desertification, as well as an active and efficient Convention Secretariat.
Drought, like desertification, is also a serious cause for concern. The Council is firmly convinced that these threats – drought and desertification – can be tackled effectively only through close international cooperation. The European Union is therefore pursuing its objectives in this field in collaboration with third countries. I would remind you in this context that, at its annual meeting held on 25 May this year, the ACP-EC Council of Ministers adopted a joint statement on combating drought and desertification.
That joint statement by the ACP countries and the European Union acknowledges the importance of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification for reducing poverty and for pursuing the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations."@en1
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