United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. (Forum).

Desertification is a global problem. As of 1998 it affected more than 900 million people in 100 countries, a number expected to double by 2025. Twenty-five percent of the earth's land area experiences desertification to some degree, with approximately 41.5 million hectares of agricultural land losing all or a portion of its productivity every year. Desertification is acute in areas such as Pakistan, China, and the Sahel region of Africa, where mushrooming populations create an intense need for food and fuel production, often at the expense of the environment.

In December 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement declaring that desertification represents "a serious threat to human health," with health consequences including malnutrition, respiratory diseases, burn injuries, and waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis A. In addition, declared the WHO, desertification can endanger traditional medical practices when sources of herbs and other natural materials are lost. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) came into force on 26 December 1996 with the goal of using innovative local programs and supportive international partnerships to prevent and resolve the conditions that lead to desertification. The secretariat of the UNCCD maintains a Web site at http://www.unccd.int/main.php.

The Web site's Information for Public and Media page provides links to information such as secretariat press releases, educational information kits for classroom use, books, posters, images, and the Down to Earth newsletter. Many of the materials are available in French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and/or German. Multilingual fact sheets have been developed on topics including the causes and consequences of desertification, partnership agreements between aid donors and affected states, and how desertification is fought in certain regions.

The Regional Information page features a clickable map that directs visitors to areas providing information specific to each region, such as text summarizing the causes, effects, and extent of desertification for the region selected; action programs to combat and control the condition in the region; and reports submitted to the UNCCD Conference of the Parties. The Country Database: offers a pull-down menu of the countries within each region that takes the visitor to information on when the country signed and ratified the treaty, national reports, action programs, experts within the country, and national Web sites devoted to desertification and related issues.