International Year of Deserts and Desertification
The year 2006 was declared the International Year of Deserts and Desertification by the United Nations General Assembly.[1] The Year aims to raise $20 million from industry and governments and will spend half on co-funding research, and half on "outreach" activities. It will be the biggest ever international effort to promote the Earth sciences. Apart from researchers, who are expected to benefit under the Year's Science Programme, the principal target groups for the Year's broader messages are:
- Decision makers and politicians who need to be better informed about the how Earth scientific knowledge can be used for sustainable development
- The voting public, which needs to know how Earth scientific knowledge can contribute to a better society
- Geoscientists, who are very knowledgeable about various aspects of the Earth but who need help in using their knowledge for the benefit of the world’s population.
The research themes of the year, set out in 10 science prospectuses were chosen for their societal relevance, multidisciplinarity and outreach potential. The Year has 12 Founding Partners 23 Associate Partners and is backed politically by 97 countries representing 87% of the world’s population. The Year was promoted politically at UNESCO and at the United Nations in New York by the People’s Republic of Tanzania.
The Year is open to Expressions of Interest from researchers within each of its 10 themes. The Outreach programme of the year is also now open to expressions of interest, and will work in a similar way by receiving and responding to bids for support from individuals and organisations worldwide.
The Year's Project Leader is former
The International Year of Planet Earth project was initiated jointly by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)[1] and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) [2]. The
UN press release reads: "By a draft on the International Year of Planet Earth, 2008, which the Committee approved without a vote on 11 November, the Assembly would declare 2008 the International Year of Planet Earth. It would also designate the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
The Year’s research themes are listed below.
The Project is backed by the following Founding Partners: International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (
The Year enjoys the support of 23 Associate Partners, including all major international geoscientific and other relevant organisations:
Objectives
The Year's Objective is to spread awareness about the desert areas of the world and especially the problem of desertification.
Themes
The Year's research themes are deserts and especially the problem of desertification.
See also
- United Nations International Years
- 2007:International Year of Planet Earth
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
References
- ^ United Nations General Assembly Session 58 Resolution 211. International Year of Deserts and Desertification, 2006 A/RES/58/211 page 2. 23 December 2003. Retrieved 2007-11-19.