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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;
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Protect biodiversity
and promote sustainable use in arid, semi-arid ecosystems, and
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Prevent deforestation
and promote sustainable use and sustainable management of forests in
order to conserve their biodiversity
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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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