Long before the subject of desertification began to concern environmentalists in Brazil, the phenomenon had already devastated almost 400,000 square kilometres of land in the USA and had led to the deaths of thousands of people in Africa. In fact the world first came to hear of desertification and its terrible consequences precisely because of a terrible drought in the 1970s in Sahel, near the Sahara Desert. Five hundred thousand people died of hunger and thirst. Almost 30 years later Africa is still the region with the largest extension of desert land in the world.

Africa has a special place at COP-3 as the most affected continent. In the plenary discussions, the Africans will be the only ones allowed to describe how the implementation of their National Plan to Combat Desertification is proceeding in their countries. The huge pockets of poverty generated by desertification have also turned Africa, out of all those countries affected by desertification, into the only recipient of aid from the world financial fund.

UN data show that 60,000 square kilometres of fertile land are lost each year as a result of disorderly land occupation in environmentally extremely fragile areas. Economically this corresponds to losses in the order of U$ 10 billion.

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