Tomorrow the attention of countries affected by desertification all over the world will be turned to the Centro de Convenções in Olinda. This is where the third Conference of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP-3) will be held. Over the following 12 days the conference centre will be turned into a UN headquarters and the event itself will be commanded entirely by the UN itself. This will be much more than an international technical meeting. It is by far the most important conference ever held in Pernambuco. Indeed it has sparked interest among most of the 193 participating countries for a very specific reason: it is the ideal location to raise some or all of the money necessary to finance action to combat the problem in each country.

It is not without good reason that the world financial fund for the control of desertification is one of the top priorities for the conference. It is here that Brazil, as well as the other poor countries affected by the problem, will be able to find funds that have yet to be used to impede the spread of desertification. This will of course be a difficult fight. Up to now only the African countries have seen the colour of this money. "Latin American countries need to get together to press for funding for our region", explains João Arthur Soccal, Assistant co-ordinator of the National Plan to Combat Desertification (PNCD).

To spice up the discussions on this subject the practical workings of the global financial mechanism will be called into question during the conference. " The fund was created 3 years ago and up to now very little has been achieved with the resources. This execution process is too slow and is in urgent need of review" complains Soccal.

As is to be expected from an event of this scale, only the 3,000 people authorised by the UN to participate in the conference will be allowed to circulate in the Centro de Convenções. While ministers of State and Heads of delegations discuss the different political aspects of desertification, specialists on the subject from all over the world will consider the technical aspects of the phenomenon.

But the greatest rush will be in the corridors and backstage of the conference, where representatives of NGOs, politicians, political aides, and observers will be negotiating approval for projects they consider important for their countries.

Away from all this confusion mortals interested in the subject can venture into Expodesert, the only place in the conference open to the general public. Here you can see an exhibition of what has been happening in Brazil and the rest of the world with regard to desertification.

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