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These projects
involve the intergrated land resource management with an
emphasis on issues relating to desertification, loss of soil
fertility and enhanced livelihoods.
Global environmental problems as defined by the GEF are the loss
of biological diversity, climate change and pollution of
international waters. Land Degradation, primarily deforestation
and desertification, was eligible for funding during the first
decade of GEF if related to the above-mentioned three GEF Focal
Areas. In October 2002, the GEF Assembly approved land
degradation as a new focal area taking into account the
objectives of the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD).
Land resources can suffer degradation from human activities, in
turn affecting water and biological resources. Often, land
degradation weakens the ability of communities to depend on
their environment for their livelihoods. This is seen clearly
when land resource potential is diminished through
desertification and deforestation. Activities that contribute to
land degradation include: soil erosion, denudation, pollution,
loss of organic matter, fertility and vegetation cover, invasive
species, habitat conversion (whether urban or agricultural) and
aquifer degradation. UNDP-GEF projects in land degradation
support countries in developing sustainable uses of land and
policies for improved land use management.
The GEF/SGP will
fund activities under LD that includes :
• Protect biodiversity and promote sustainable use in arid, semi-arid
ecosystems, and
• Prevent deforestation and promote sustainable use and
sustainable management of forests in order to conserve their
biodiversity
• Integrated watershed management; soil conservation;
afforestation; prevention of forest fires; and organic farming
etc. Projects address policy and other barriers to mitigating
land degradation (e.g. land tenure, access to natural resources)
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