Morocco's King Mohammed VI has called for the establishment of a “genuine African alliance against desertification”, with adequate financial and technological resources for effective action.
In a speech addressed to the Summit on Drought and Sustainable Land Management, which kicked off on Monday in Abidjan, the King welcomed the Abidjan Initiative that will be issued after the proceedings of this Summit, expressing the hope that it will be "a basis for sustained, practical mobilization to turn political commitments into concrete measures”.
“We are determined to combat the common enemy of desertification through coordinated, solidarity-based action,” stressed the Sovereign, noting that this high-level meeting is part of "flagship regional initiatives, suited to African realities,” which contribute to building African resilience to drought.
Faced with a changing climate, dwindling water resources, growing populations, expanding cities and shrinking and deteriorating farmland, the Abidjan Summit brings a welcome logic of action, beyond the agreed timeframe of COP15 on desertification, stressed the King in his speech, which was read out by minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki.
“When it comes to drought and land degradation, we need no further convincing. Now is the time to speed up the implementation of practical programs in order to combat desertification within the framework of concrete, pragmatic and revamped regional cooperation,” said the Sovereign, congratulating the President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, for the successful organization of this Summit held on the sidelines of the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
In this sense, the Sovereign welcomed the fact that the Abidjan initiative is in line with the momentum given by the African Action Summit for continental co-emergence, organized in Marrakech on the sidelines of the COP22 on climate.
The King also stressed, in this context, that the synergy is indeed "great" between the Abidjan Initiative and the three Climate Commissions for Africa that were set up by the 2016 Marrakech Summit: the Congo Basin Commission; the Sahel Region Commission; and the Island States Commission, noting that the Abidjan Initiative is also in line with the Triple A Initiative for an Adapted African Agriculture, and the 3S Initiative for Sustainability, Stability and Security in Africa.
In his speech, the Sovereign referred to the situation in Africa, a continent particularly affected by desertification, with millions of hectares threatened due to the advance of the desert, which is progressing in some regions at a rate of 5 km per year.
A worrying state of affairs since, as the King stated, "land degradation is a multiplier of vulnerabilities".
“When environmental security is threatened, that affects food security, human security and, in fact, all matters relating to security in general,” said the King.
As an illustration of this causal link, the King emphasized that "areas suffering from extreme environmental degradation are also often areas where conflicts break out, where populations are displaced and where terrorist and separatist groups seek to get a foothold”.
All these facts prove that "the fight against desertification and land degradation is an existential struggle for everyone – and even more so in Africa", underlined the King, insisting that "this fight should not be hampered by a lack of technological capabilities or financial resources, much less political will”.
To succeed in this "fight of all, and at all times" against desertification, the King has set the challenges to be met: reduce vulnerabilities to drought; build capacity for sustainable land management; converge regional and international efforts; allow the deployment of specific solutions and control water stress.
“Our illustrious host’s commendable initiative attests to our firm determination and concrete mobilization to tackle the problem of drought, which constitutes a structural challenge in our African continent, more than anywhere else”, the King pointed out, noting that “this initiative is also a clear testimony of the Africa which is so dear to me: an entrepreneurial Africa which takes its destiny into its own hands”.
