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40 Countries Meet in Dubai to Fight Desertification 

Agence France Presse

DUBAI, 18 April 2005 — 

Representatives from 40 countries, including presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, have adopted a charter calling on the world to unite to fight desertification.

Participants at Dubai’s Festival of Cultures and Civilizations of World Deserts on Saturday night adopted a “charter of world deserts” which stresses that “the struggle against desertification is a responsibility shared by all countries.”

The document is to be submitted to the United Nations which will observe the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17.

According to UN estimates, a quarter of the Earth’s land is threatened by desertification which directly affects more than 250 million people. Drought led to the deaths of more than 280,000 people between 1991 and 2000.

“The desert is synonymous with life and strength,” Bouteflika told the gathering.

“It is from the desert that prophets and messengers came and the riches on which human civilizations are built were extracted,” Bouteflika told the meeting, but added that “desertification means death and poverty.”

Mbeki for his part told the gathering, which will last until April 22, that the struggle against desertification is a “global responsibility”.