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News / 31 March 2015

Conference against drought in Cancun: BE argues for better cooperation

Recently the third scientific meeting of the UNCCD took place in Cancun, Mexico. This conference aims to bring scientists, policy makers and NGOs together to fight against drought, land degradation and desertification. Nathalie van Haren of Both ENDS was there as one of the few official representatives of NGOs. At the closing session she presented a statement that had been drawn up together with the other civil society organisations present.

This statement emphasizes the importance of collaboration between scientists, NGOs and policy makers. It happens too often that scientists are too far removed from the daily reality. Research on drought through satellite images and soil samples can yield very interesting results, but offer no help to farmers who suffer the problems of drought on their land. Also, local knowledge and the findings of NGOs are often overlooked. By taking each other's work seriously and listening to each other, real results can be achieved that will lead to sustainable land management.


Read the full statement here.

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