Tehran, June 17, 2007 - "Desertification is not only one of the world's greatest environmental challenges; it is also a major impediment to meeting basic human needs in drylands. It puts at risk the health and well-being of 1.2 billion people in more than 100 countries," said UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Knut Ostby, quoting UN Secretary General, in a ceremony here today marking the World Desertification Day, in which the Minister of Agriculture and the Head of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Organization were also present. Pointing to the linkages between poverty and climate change, Mr. Ostby referred to climate change and desertification as "two manifestations of the same problem", and that together they seriously threatened our ability to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

UNDP, with funding from the Global Environment Fund (GEF), supports the Iranian Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Organization in an initiative to mobilize communities in an arid region of the country to plant trees to reduce soil erosion from severe summer winds, a step that will also help reduce global climate change, since the trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Mr. Ostby said appropriate management of drylands was vital to overall national well-being, as majority of the country's poor depend on drylands resources for their livelihood. He said people had to be seen as "part of solution for environmental resource management rather than the problem". He emphasized that active people participation through social mobilization tool was a "key to sustainable management of environmental resources that will consequently reduce the risk of desertification"."Women in dryland areas generally play important roles in preserving their land for food, fuel and shelter and should therefore not be excluded from participation in land conservation and development  projects, from agricultural extension work and from policies that directly affect their livelihoods", said Mr. Osbty. The UNDP Resident Representative underscored that any approach had to ensure that women were involved in planning and carrying out dryland development activities such as formation of community groups or village development groups, mobilization of internal saving
funds to provide alternative livelihoods.