Land degradation and sustainable land management were among several issues which were discussed between Executive Secretary of the United National Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) Luc Gnacadja and President Bharrat Jagdeo when the two met recently.

According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), President Jagdeo and Gnacadja along with Heitor Matallo, Coordinating Regional Officer of the UNCCD discussed methods of tackling land degradation and mitigating the effect of drought through sustainable land management and land rehabilitation.

Gnacadja, in an invited comment, told GINA that sustainable land management is a challenge for all nations, particularly the world’s poor, he noted.

According to the release, the UNCCD acknowledged the Presidents’ interest and expertise on climate change issues, particularly avoided deforestation under the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) which caters for cutting deforestation rates, conservation of forest stocks, sustainable forestry management as well as expansion of forest stock.

The UNCCD is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programmes which incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.

According to GINA, the Convention was adopted out of a recommendation of the Conference’s Agenda 21 in Paris in June 1994 and came into force in December 1996. It is the first and only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification, the release stated.