Detail

The 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD  The earth’s forests are diminishing, with the earth’s water drying up. Excessive grazing, reckless logging and unchecked development are accelerating the process of desertification leading to a vicious cycle involving climate change, water and food shortages, etc. Every year, forests the size of half the Korean peninsula disappears on the earth, with the arid region that accounts for 41% of the world’s land mass is also gradually turning into deserts. What is more, 90% of the areas suffering from desertification are in developing countries. Thus, desertification is directly forcing the 2.1 billion people living in those areas into the abyss of poverty. Our last resort in addressing the crisis in the earth environment such as desertification, climate change, and water shortage is the “forest.” The international community is making concerted efforts to promote sustainable forests. Based on its successful forestation experience of greening the forest desolated from war and poverty in a short period of time, Korea is sharing its forestation know-how with developing countries, thus promoting reforestation in those countries in an effort to prevent desertification. The 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (UN Convention to Combat Desertification), scheduled to be held from October 10 to 21 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang province is the first to be held in Asia and will be participated by 3,000 government representatives, international bodies, non-government organizations, etc. from 194 member countries. It is hoped that this conference can provide new momentum to the endeavors to inform the world of the increasingly hazardous desertification in Asia, and to set up an inter-country cooperation scheme to prevent desertification that is unfolding on a global level. In the hope that this conference can provide the opportunity to make us realize the severity of the effects of desertification and once again reaffirm the importance of the forest, a commemorative stamp expressing “the beginning of hope” is issued.