International Year of Deserts and Desertification

The United Nations has declared 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, to raise awareness of both the nature of deserts and the economic and social implications of increasing drylands. The first official event is a meeting, Combating desertification and poverty in drylands: promoting the participation of civil society and decentralized cooperation in the UNCCD implementation process, to be held in Rome, 19-20 January 2006. Current information about activities supporting the campaign is available from its web site.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has a web page, Botswana - Combating Desertification, with links to its country information systems and country profiles:
AQUASTAT Country Profile describes the state of water resources and agricultural water use; Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles provides a broad overview of relevant general, topographical, climatic and agro-ecological information with focus on livestock production systems and the pasture /forage resources as well as information about key institutions and personnel and their current research interests; Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) provides information about food supply and demand; METART ARTEMIS and AGROMET Data and Information features low resolution satellite imagery, meteorological data and derived products; and Water and Food Security Country Profiles provide focalized information on the state of water resources and food security.

In the HOORC Library catalogue, you can find the 2004 Botswana national report on the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification as well as studies of desertification in Ngamiland.