26 July 1984

Meeting 49

Implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 32/172 of 19 December 1977, by which the Assembly approved the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification,

Recalling also paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 38/165 of 19 December 1983, by which the Assembly welcomed the decision of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to devote two days, during its twelfth session, to a detailed assessment of the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification,

Having considered the reports of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the general assessment of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, 1978-1984, on the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, submitted in response to General Assembly resolution 32/172 and subsequent resolutions, in particular resolution 37/218 of 20 December 1982, and on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, submitted in response to paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 38/164 of 19 December 1983,

I Implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the general assessment of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, 1978-1984, submitted pursuant to paragraph 9 of the Plan of Action approved by the General Assembly in resolution 32/172, and transmits it to the Assembly for consideration;

2. Takes note with appreciation also of the report of the Governing Council on the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 37/218, and transmits it to the Assembly for consideration;

3. Takes note of Governing Council decision 12/10 of 28 May 1984;

4. Expresses its deep concern that, during the seven years since the United Nations Conference on Desertification in 1977, desertification has continued to spread and intensify in developing countries, particularly in Africa;

5. Welcomes the reconfirmation by the Governing Council of the validity of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, the reaffirmation of the central role of the United Nations Environment Programme in catalysing, co-ordinating and assessing the implementation of the Plan of Action at the international level, and the approval by the Governing Council of concrete, time-bound activities to combat desertification over the next fifteen years;

6. Concurs with the invitation of the Governing Council to the General Assembly to expand the role of the Consultative Group for Desertification Control, which is financed from voluntary contributions, and invites all Governments, particularly those of donor members, to become more involved in the work of the Consultative Group;

7. Urges Governments of countries prone to or suffering from desertification to give priority to the establishment of national programmes to combat desertification and to consider setting up appropriate national machinery or assigning responsibility to existing national machinery, where appropriate, to that end;

8. Urges all Governments to increase their assistance, through appropriate channels, to countries suffering from desertification, including the financing of regional and subregional programmes;

9. Welcomes the decision of the Governing Council that a further overall assessment of progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification should be carried out in 1992;

II Implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification

10. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 33/88 of 15 December 1978, 34/187 of 18 December 1979 and 38/164 of 19 December 1983, transmits it to the Assembly for consideration, and notes the decision of the Governing Council to include Ghana and Togo among the countries eligible to receive assistance through the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office;

11. Expresses its satisfaction at the positive assessment by the Governing Council of the activities carried out by the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, as a joint venture of the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, to assist the countries of the Sudano-Sahelian region, on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme, in implementing the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

12. Welcomes the decisions of the Governing Councils of the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme on the continuation of the joint venture of the two Programmes, aimed at ensuring the timely and effective provision of assistance to the group of designated countries by the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme, in combating desertification in the Sudano-Sahelian region;

13. Expresses its appreciation to Governments, organizations of the United Nations system, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that have contributed to the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;

14. Urges all Governments, organizations of the United Nations system and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to strengthen their financial and technical support to the countries of the Sudano-Sahelian region to assist them in the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification.