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Desertification in focus as 15th UN Conference of Parties ends in Ivory Coast

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The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has ended in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The edition which was against desertification ended with 38 decisions adopted to invest in land restoration and drought mitigation.

The conference was attended by leaders from governments, the private sector, and civil society with a target of finding sustainable solutions for land restoration.

The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the UN Convention. All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention.

The Executive Secretary, Ibrahim Thiaw of the COP stressed the need for effective steps to prevent continued land degradation.

“Beyond the technical terms and discussions, all is really about life. It’s about our well-being. Knowing that 40% of the planet’s land surface is already damaged by human activity, I think, calls for action. So this COP is also a call to action on two major issues: land restoration and drought.” The Secretary remarked.

Climate activist, Jean Claude Brou, argued that the effect of land degradation is telling on agriculture performance of the world and Africa particularly.

“The farmers experience the reality of land degradation, they are the ones battling it on all fronts, the farmers know this reality. The farmers are the ones who know the reality of the situation in the forests. They’re organized in groups and could have been invited! Instead, administrators, committees, or agricultural organizations, attended, I do not agree with that.”

According to a policy brief (Pdf) published by the African Group of Negotiators Support, Land degradation is rampant in Africa, accounting for 46% of the total land area. At the current pace, it is projected to render more than half of the cultivated land in Africa unusable by 2050.

The 196 Parties that made the conference, pledged to boost drought resilience and invest in land restoration for prosperity in the future. 38 decisions were adopted with more robust monitoring and data to track progress against land restoration commitments.

It was also noted that new political and financial impetus to help nations deal with the devastating impacts of drought and build resilience.

Musings From Abroad

India arrests 35 Somali pirates as part of operations around Red Sea

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Following 100 days of anti-piracy operations east of the Red Sea, where piracy has reappeared for the first time in almost a decade, the Indian navy turned up 35 Somali pirates to the police in Mumbai on Saturday.

After a hundred days of anti-piracy operations east of the Red Sea, where piracy has reappeared for the first time in almost ten years, the Indian navy turned up 35 Somali pirates to the Mumbai police on Saturday.

Three months after it was taken over off the coast of Somalia, India, the biggest country in the Gulf of Aden and northern Arabian Sea, apprehended the pirates from the cargo ship Ruen last week.

Pirates have attempted more than 20 hijackings since November, taking advantage of Western forces’ attention being diverted to defending shipping against attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants. The development has increased insurance and security costs and created a crisis for international shipping companies.

The Houthis, who declare their support for Palestinians in Gaza in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, have been attacking the area since November, and as a result, shipping via the region has decreased by half as ships are choosing to circumnavigate southern Africa instead, according to the Indian navy.

According to the navy, India has responded to 18 instances by rotating the deployment of 21 ships and 5,000 people, boarding and inspecting more than 1,000 vessels. Several days have seen the deployment of almost a dozen warships due to its unparalleled presence.

“The task is to ensure that there is safety, security and stability” in the region, Kumar said.

“We can live up to the requirement of being a first responder and a preferred security partner… to ensure that the Indian Ocean region is safe, secure and stable.”

Before the Ruen was captured, Somali pirates had not been able to seize control of a cargo ship since 2017. In January, India sent at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to fend off pirate attacks and has examined more than 250 vessels.

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Musings From Abroad

EU hints Cyprus could consider migrant deal with Lebanon

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European Union (EU) commissioner, Margaritis Schinas, has revealed that the bloc could strike a deal with Lebanon as part of moves to manage the influx of migrants.

The revelation comes after Cyprus complained it was being inundated by a surge in arrivals from the Middle East.

To assist them in coping with the burden of rising migration and, ultimately, stop it from spreading to the other 27 members of the bloc, the EU has agreements in place with several nations. The pacts have drawn harsh criticism from rights groups.

Vice president of the European Commission for promoting the European way of life Schinas suggested that a deal with Lebanon could be mediated similar to the one the EU made on March 17 with Egypt. He remarked that a great deal of planning was necessary.

“We had worked with Egypt for quite some time, but I consider that it’s realistic to move correspondingly with Lebanon,” he said during a visit to Cyprus.

Situated within 100 miles (160 km) from Syria and Lebanon, Cyprus is the easternmost state of the European Union. Asylum seekers have started arriving there more frequently in recent months. In addition to facing a severe economic crisis, Lebanon is also home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

On March 11, 458 Syrians came to Cyprus in six tiny boats within a single day. Compared to 36 in March of last year, authorities have recorded 533 arrivals by sea this month alone.

“Our country … is facing asphyxiating pressure because of the large number of Syrians arriving in Cyprus,” Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said after meeting Schinas.

Nicosia wants the EU to take into consideration designating areas of war-torn Syria as safe, allowing authorities to repatriate refugees who arrive from that country.

According to the United Nations. data, over 34,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to join the EU illegally so far this year. There are many cultural, economic, and environmental commonalities throughout the Middle East between the countries of Northern Africa, including Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and others. Through the Mediterranean and desert, African migrants have attempted to enter portions of Europe.

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