FAO Director of Land and Water Division presentation of SG Report at UNGA Second Committee – 'Combatting Sand and Dust Storms'

Introduction of the Report of the Secretary-General on Combatting Sand and Dust Storms

UN General Assembly Second Committee

Presented by FAO, on behalf of the UN Coalition on Combatting Sand and Dust Storms

Mr LI Lifeng, Director of the FAO Land and Water Division

It is an honour to address the Second Committee of the 77th Session of the General Assembly to introduce the Secretary General’s report on combating sand and dust storms, which corresponds to item 18 (j) and is contained in document A/77/216.

The report, prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 76/211 on combating sand and dust storms, provides details on developments within the United Nations system since the issuance of the previous Secretary General Report on this topic (as contained in document A/76/219). 

The report draws on contributions from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management of ESCAP, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the World Bank, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The report covers the period from mid-2021 to mid-2022. It highlights activities and initiatives undertaken by United Nations entities, Member States and a range of stakeholders and underscores achievements made during the reporting period. The report also reflects the growing awareness around sand and dust storms as a result of the human, economic, social and environmental costs associated with them.

The developments and activities in the report are organized in four principal areas: cross-cutting developments; monitoring, prediction and early warning; impact mitigation, vulnerability and resilience; and source mitigation.

Overall, the report identifies three key messages.

First, the transboundary hazards posed to human society by sand and dust storms continue to be felt in numerous parts of the world, and the need grows for more concerted action and resource mobilization at the national and international levels to reduce the adverse impacts of sand and dust storms on numerous sectors. 

Second, the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, which was officially launched in 2019, continues its efforts to move from the planning to the implementation stage currently under FAO leadership. The Coalition was invited to continue to assist affected countries in developing and implementing national and regional policies on sand and dust storms, in decision 26/COP.15 of UNCCD on 20 May 2022.

Third, further work remains to be done to fill gaps in data, information and understanding of the ways in which society interacts with the global dust cycle as part of our mission to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resource mobilization is essential to enhance global action on combating sand and dust storms.

I thank you.