… Herunga new COP president
WINDHOEK – Namibia has received commendations on its strong drought risk management policy, at the 11th session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) taking place in Windhoek.
The commendation came on Monday afternoon, when the conference elected the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Uahekua Herunga, as president of COP. He will serve in the position for the next two years, succeeding Dr Don Koo Lee of South Korea. “This ‘land of the brave’ is often cited as a model because of its ability to adapt to an ecosystem that is prone to drought. Over the years, Namibia has won many battles for the dignity and well-being of its people in the face of harsh conditions. We are confident that this battle of drought, too, will be won under the leadership of His Excellency President Hifikepunye Pohamba in addressing this crisis,” the executive secretary of COP 11 Luc Gnacadja told delegates yesterday. He applauded Namibia for its efforts to develop and operationalise a strong drought risk management policy, saying it is the right approach. “I call on countries, the UN and international institutions, as well the business community to provide support to enable Namibia to move beyond crisis management and to adopt strong preparedness and risk management strategies, which will help build the nation’s resilience to drought in future.” Herunga earlier said it is extremely befitting that Namibia, which is facing the very real threat of desertification, land degradation and drought, should host the 11th session of UNCCD. Namibia is known as the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and Herunga impressed on delegates that land degradation is a significant threat to “our developmental efforts and is a threat we are committed to addressing.”
Gnacadja highlighted that countries need to move beyond a political agreement and bring land degradation to the forefront of national policy. This, he said, would help “all parties to effectively deliver on critical policy issues at the nexus of food-energy and water security, as well as the eradication of extreme poverty in the context of sustainable development.” The 11th session of the Conference of Parties to the UNCCD has brought together over 2 000 delegates from 194 countries. The 12-day conference ends next week Friday. The conference is also the last for Gnacadja as the incumbent executive secretary of the UNCCD. He is currently serving his third and last term in that position. The outgoing UNCCD executive secretary said an effective and active participation of parties is crucial during COP 11 and that it convenes at a time when the international community is looking for ways to turn into a reality the outcomes of the UN conference on sustainable development, which took place last year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. COP 11 is expected to guide parties on how to turn the agreement reached at RIO +20 into practical action for the future, both within the UNCCD context and in the framing of the post-2015 development agenda.
By Albertina Nakale