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Dryland Degradation — Africa’s Main Environmental Challenge

International activities from the 1970s to the 1990s and the future of The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

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International Environmental Law and Policy in Africa

Part of the book series: Environment & Policy ((ENPO,volume 36))

Abstract

Desertification is arguably Africa’s main environmental challenge. In fact, it has provided such a formidable challenge that Africa has not been able to meet it alone. Since the 1970s, numerous international efforts have been devoted to designing responses to this environmental problem. This chapter traces the successes and failures of these international activities.

Dr. Elisabeth Corell is a Wallenberg Fellow in Environment and Sustainability at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, USA. In 1999, she completed her PhD dissertation The Negotiable Desert: Expert Knowledge in the Negotiations of the Convention to Combat Desertificationat Linköping University, Sweden. For this research she attended all CCD negotiating sessions from 1993 to 1997. Her field is international relations and her research interests include the relationship between science and politics in international environmental decision-making, expert knowledge, sustainable development in developing countries, and the translation of global agreements to local action.

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References

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Corell, E. (2003). Dryland Degradation — Africa’s Main Environmental Challenge. In: International Environmental Law and Policy in Africa. Environment & Policy, vol 36. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0135-8_1

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