[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 80 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S6637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          U.N. WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to mark the United 
Nations World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which took 
place on June 17, 1998. This date is important because it is the fourth 
anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the 
Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious 
Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa. The United 
States has signed this treaty, but the Senate has yet to exercise its 
advice and consent responsibilities on this important convention.
  The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought should serve as a 
reminder to this body that we should honor our constitutional 
responsibilities and act on this convention in a timely manner. As the 
ranking member of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, I have had the 
opportunity to see first-hand how valuable the provisions of this 
convention will be to the people of Africa. It is a mechanism by which 
the people of Africa will be assisted in preserving and protecting 
their land, which is a vital link in Africa's fight to become self-
sufficient.
  This convention is particularly important for Africa because more 
than two-thirds of the land comprising that continent is desert or dry 
land, and almost three-quarters of the dry land used for farming is in 
danger of becoming unusable. The Sahelian droughts of 1971-73 and 1984-
85 contributed to the deaths of thousands and spurred migration that 
put further stress on already taxed land around Africa.
  This Convention to Combat Desertification, which has already been 
ratified by 120 countries, establishes a framework to promote land and 
soil health in developing countries, in order to halt the kind of 
neglect that eventually leads to land that is unusable for farming. 
This convention is innovative because it requires participation from 
all segments of the population, from the farmers and herders who work 
the land, to local governments and environmental organizations, to 
those who affect environmental and agricultural policy at the national 
and regional levels.
  I hope that the Senate will act on this convention in a timely 
manner, and that next year's anniversary of the Convention to Combat 
Desertification will be marked by progress in the world's efforts to 
protect the land and soil that sustains life in developing 
countries.

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