Re- and Afforestation in the context of land degradation ......(cp. National Report Albania 2000) Cyprus: Reforestation and Afforestation activity started in the 1980´s as an on-going

Re- and Afforestation in the context of land

degradation/desertification in Europe

Workshop on Pan-European recommendations for afforestation and reforestation in the context of the UNFCCC, 24-26 October Vilnius, Lithuania

2006International Year of Deserts and Desertificationwww.iyyd.org

www.unccd.int

byElysabeth David

Coordinator Europe Unit

WHAT MEANS DESERTIFICATION?

“desertification" means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.

( cp. Part 1/Article 1a CCD-Conv.).


www.unccd.int

UNCCD-Convention – legal definitions

"land degradation" means reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture,forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns, such as:

(i) soil erosion caused by wind and/or water;(ii) deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological oreconomic properties of soil; and(iii) long-term loss of natural vegetation

(cp Part 1/ Art 1f CCD-Conv.)

WHAT MEANS LAND DEGRADATION?


www.unccd.int

Types of Desertification and

Land degradation

"combating desertification" includes activities which arepart of the integrated development of land in arid, semi-

arid and dry sub-humid areas for sustainable development which are aimed at:

(i) prevention and/or reduction of land degradation;

(ii) rehabilitation of partly degraded land; and(iii) reclamation of desertified land; ( cp. Part 1/ Art 1b ii/iii b CCD-Conv.)

WHAT MEANS COMBATING DESERTIFCATION?


www.unccd.int

Achieving this objective will involve long-term integrated strategies that focus simultaneously, in affected areas, on improved productivity of land, and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources, leading to improved living conditions, in particular at the community level.(cp part 1/art. 2, para 2 CCD-Conv.)

UNDDC core strategy


www.unccd.int

How does the UNCCD process function?

international

local

national

projects, activities

coordination, planning and priority setting

international framework setting

UNCCD as a legally binding international agreement, negotiation processes

National Action Programmes (NAP)Subregional Action Programmes (SRAP)Regional Action Programmes (RAP)

Project Implementation (participatory process)

Keys points of the UNCCD IMPLEMENTATION

CONVENTION BOTH DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT

BOTTOM UP

PARTICIPATORY AND CONSULTATIVE PROCESSES

INTEGRATED INTERSECTORIEL APPROACH

COMMUNITY BASED PARTNERSHIP

LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLATEFORM

COP decision related to reforestation/afforestation

Decision 8/COP 4: Bonn Declaration (Dec. 2000)

• Declare under the topic specific thematic and sectorial areasthat during this decade the strategic areas for action at all levels, in accordance with national plan and priorities and in conformity with the provisions of the Convention, should include also:

=>Launching of reforestation/afforestation programmes and intensification of soil conservation programmes

CRIC3 report: item related to reforestation/afforestation

ICCD/CRIC3(3)/9 (June 2005)Reforestation and afforestation in the context of sustainable forest are

important elements in combating desertification…

synergy and complementarity between NAPS and national forest programmes must be ensured when planning or implementing forest related activities.

Such programme provide income-generating opportunities and relate to coping strategies in relation with population pressure, water scarcity, poverty and migration

Affected country PartiesDeveloped country

Parties

Regional implementation Annexfor

Northern Mediterranean

(ANNEX IV)

Regional implementation Annexfor

Central & Eastern Europe

(ANNEX V)

UNCCD EUROPEAN COUNTRY PARTIESUNCCD EUROPEAN COUNTRY PARTIES

UNCCD and its European country parties

NON PARTIES

Albania, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Croatia, Slovenia

Estonia, Serbia, Montenegro

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Rep., FYR of Macedonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Rep. of Moldova, Slovak Rep., Romania, Russian Fed., Ukraine

Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy Malta, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Turkey

ANNEX VFor Central & Eastern Europe

ANNEX IVFor Northern Mediterranean

Current efforts and activities of Northern Mediterranean and Central & Eastern Europe

countries in reforestation/ afforestation: National ReportsAlbania:

NAP includes technical activities related to reforestation,(cp. National Report Albania 2000)

Cyprus:Reforestation and Afforestation activity started in the 1980´s as an on-going project to afforest land under extreme conditions: 4.300 ha afforested by 2001, 671 ha in 2001 was. The project will continue with estimated 10.000 ha to be afforested in the coming 10 years,at a cost of $15 million. Another project undertaken is the afforestation of 5.000 ha of abandoned and degraded agricultural land at a total cost of approximately $4 million.

(cp National Report Cyprus 2000)


www.unccd.int

National Reports

Greece:Among the targets of forestry services are included inter alia, connected to the fight against desertification:

• Reforestation on bald areas or forest ones, which have been burnt(cp National report Greece 2000)

In line with the NAP a Forest Functional Plan has been prepared, including the restoration of burned forests. Forest plant nurseries produced 13.200.000 seedlings for the year 2000. Reforestation of 14.916 acres by seeding and replant.(cp National Report Greece 2002)


www.unccd.int

National Reports

Italy:In the framework of the NAP regional actions in reforestation were undertaken,(cp. National Report Italy 2002).

Related to the UNCCD in the framework of NAP/SRAP and RAP Italy started a national project entitled “Monitoring and functional evaluation of reforestation and olive trees cultivation in combating desertification in Italy”.(cp. National Report Italy 2006).


www.unccd.int

Republic of Moldova:Relating to the NAP during 2000-2004 about 192.8 units of plant materials were sold in reforestation activities. (cp National Report Moldova 2006)

Romania:According to the NAP one of the main measures for desertification controlin Romania is to take care of the physical und functional forest integrity interalia through afforestation activities. (cp National Report Romania 2000)

Afforestation of degraded lands relaunched after 1999, after a period of slow pace. Degraded lands area annually planted, in average, 15 000 ha before 1989, 630 ha between 1990 to 2000 and 3000 ha after 2001. Areas afforested are those flagged as first priority in the National Action Program to Combat Drought, Land Degradation and Desertification.(cp National Report Romania 2006)

National Reports

Turkey:In order to implement application measures of UNCCD it is foreseen that a number of activities for combating desertification including reforestation in an area of 3000.000 hectares, soil conservations in an area of 175.000 and pasture improvement in an area of 30.000 will be carried out during NAP periode. The main objective is to improve global carbon cycle, meet wood demands and support livelihood of the rual communities.(cp National Report Turkey 2000)

Relating to combating desertification and because of the important role of forests in general, Turkey launched reforestation/afforestation programmes.(cp National Report Turkey 2006)

National Reports

Offers and needs. “The Activity Master”Northern Mediterranean

“Activity Master”

Northern Mediterranean

Offers and needs. “The Activity Master”Central & Eastern Europe

“Activity Master”

Central & Eastern Europe

Scientific cooperation and Training/capacity buildingThe regional Northern Mediterranean meeting (Bonn, Germany, 2004) identified Reforestation/afforestation/tree plantation in affected areas and soil conservation strategies/planning as two of the eight priority areas adopted for scientific cooperation.

=> Spain in discussion to organize a regional training on “Rehabilitation techniques for degraded soils – Reforestation/afforestation/tree plantation in affected areas”

⇒Turkey will organize in Spring 2007 a regional training on “Reforestation/afforestation/ tree plantation in affected areas “

Regional activities in Northern Mediterranean under UNCCD

Regional activities in Central & Eastern Europe under UNCCD

Scientific cooperation and Training/capacity buildingThe regional Central & Eastern Europe meeting (Minsk, Belarus,2003) identified reforestation/afforestation/ tree plantation in affected areas and sustainable forest strategies as the priority areas for regional scientific cooperation.

=> The Forest Research and Management Institute in Romania offers to be he a host institution for a regional thematic network (RTN) on “afforestation in temperate zone affected by drought” (launching planed in 2007)

=> The Forest Research and Experimental Centre (FREC) of the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia offered to be used as a regional training centre (RTC) in the area of reforestation/afforestation/tree planting in affected areas

Synergy among International Conventions

UNFCCC

UNCBDUNCCD

Common Goal: Sustainable Use of the World’s Resources


www.unccd.int

SYNERGY BETWEEN CONVENTIONS

- UNCCD/CBD/UNFCCC Joint Liaison Group (JLG) (nextmeeting in December 2006)

- National Capacity Self Assessment (NCSA)

- FCCC/SBSTA/2004/INF.19 « Options for enhanced cooperation among the three conventions »

- Workshop on “Identifying synergies through forests and forest ecosystems”, March 2004, Viterbo, Italy

- ICCD/COP(7)/16/add.1 related to sustainable forest management, conservation and sustainable use of forest as an effective means for the objectives of the 3 conventions.

Land Degradation / Desertification

Loss of top soil in quantity and quality

Biodiversity Vegetation Climate Landscape

Linkages

Afforestation/reforestation = Anti- desertification /land degradation

• Maintain soil fertility:- by adding organic matter to the litter- by solubilization of phosphorus through mycorrhiza or bacterial activity- by biological nitrogen fixing

• Improve the physical properties of the soil :- water retention- permeability- aggregate stability- regularization of temperatures

• Reduce the negative effects of the nutrients leaching (roots of the trees)

• Minimize on top soil the erosive action of wind and rain

• Increase the biological productivity of soil• Decrease evapotranspiration

Soil and global changes

• Silent disaster of world, including European soil degradation

• High buffer capacity and resilience of soil ecosystems and their ability to absorb changes but with limits

• interrelation between climate change and soil verycomplex :

⇒Impacts of climate change on soils properties andperformance

⇒Influence of soil on global change with itsimportant role of carbon sequestration and itspossible variation of biomass

CONCERNS

• creation of an enabling environment with reform of environmental policies

• integrated approach of management of afforestation projects taking into account soil conservation issues

• setting-up of mechanisms facilitating access to financial resources

• setting up incentives and system of compensation to rewards efforts of rural stakeholders

• introduction of remunerative prices for products

• use of conservation adequate technologies

• adaptation of plan to soil potential

CONCERNS (cont.)

• decentralization at local level of accountability and decision making of natural resources, including forest

• analysis of the needs of local populations, local access to the markets

• upgrade of skill of stakeholders

• size of the surface of plantation and used methodology

• how to be involve and to benefit from the CDM at local level

• transboundary, subregional and regional perspectives

• adding more socio economic impact studies in the debate

• ownership of the process

CONCERNS (cont.)

• to federate local stakeholders around projects with the objectives of the 3 conventions;

• integrated local area development programme around an integrated territorial platform

• to galvanize the NFPs to build concrete actions on information received from each of the 3 processes

• to ensure a synergy in the reporting process of the 3 conventions on afforestation/reforestation

Documents

Re- and Afforestation in the context of land degradation ......(cp. National Report Albania 2000) Cyprus: Reforestation and Afforestation activity started in the 1980´s as an on-going