Brasília - The battle against desertification is the subject of debates in Fortaleza until Friday (6) at the South American Conference to Combat Desertification.

The Secretary of Water Resources of the Ministry of Environment, João Bosco Senra, said that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the difficulties in implementing the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, ratified 10 years ago, as well as to verify what has been accomplished over this period and to discuss the launching of the National Action Program to Combat Desertification (PAN).

"The PAN was an endeavor carried out by state workshops and work groups in an integrated effort involving the government, various entities, and civil society," said the Secretary, explaining that the program represents a planning instrument intended to define guidelines and major activities to combat and prevent the phenomenon of desertification in Brazilian regions with semi-arid and dry, sub-humid climates.

Agência Brasil
Translator: David Silberstein
08/05/2004