Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Friends and Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to address the Conference of Parties (COP) for the first time as the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This honour, however, comes in the stark reality of the aftermath of the attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania, and the military action that commenced last night.

Last year, COP met in the wake of the Millennium Summit. There, world leaders pledged to define the 21st Century through the pursuit of international development goals, such as halving poverty by 2015 and halting desertification. Although we meet in a political climate that is greatly changed, our commitment to these goals must remain stronger than ever. Assistance is urgently needed to help the world's poorest and most vulnerable people withstand the global economic and political shocks. And, no effort to achieve peace will be truly successful unless it addresses human deprivation and inequity.

As the first conference of the United Nations to occur without interruption since September 11th, COPV is a significant moment for the international community. Now is the time to reaffirm the goals that unite us and strengthen the campaign against poverty. This is the moment to equip the UNCCD and its institutions to make real inroads against desertification, and, in so doing, to help reduce affected nations' vulnerability to economic and social shocks.

Desertification threatens the livelihoods of 1 billion people, particularly in rural areas. Over 630 million rural poor live at risk in areas suffering from severe water stress. The solutions are embodied within the framework of the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The task before us remains clear. We must reaffirm our support for the Convention as well as the institutions designated to act on it. Let me reaffirm my deep appreciation to Ambassador Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the Convention, for his tireless efforts to advance UNCCD objectives. We also recognize that significant resources are required to implement the UNCCD and the role that the Global Mechanism plays in mobilizing resources. The UNCCD must reaffirm its support for the GM and do its utmost to strengthen it. IFAD has done and will continue doing its part. We have already released a contribution of USD 2.5 million to the Global Mechanism, and I am pleased to confirm that we are now releasing another USD 2.5 million to the GM.

Voluntary contributions in support of the GM's catalytic investments are but one manner in which IFAD has supported the principles of the UNCCD. Our projects and programmes aim to integrate and advance our efforts to end desertification. Over the past 23 years, IFAD has committed over USD 3.5 billion to support dryland development and combat land degradation throughout the world. 70% of IFAD-supported projects are located in ecologically fragile, marginal environments. (IFAD's regional operations in support of the UNCCD are detailed in the fact sheets circulated with my statement).

Rural poverty alleviation is inextricably linked with tackling desertification. As noted in IFAD's Rural Poverty Report 2001: The Challenge of Ending Rural Poverty, 75 percent of the poor live in rural areas and make their livings largely through agriculture and related services. Because the poor often farm degraded land that is increasingly unable to meet their needs, desertification is both a cause and consequence of rural poverty. Hence, combating desertification must be an integral part of our common effort to eradicate poverty and ensure food security on an environmentally sustainable basis.

The commitment to reduce poverty made at the Millennium Summit will not be fulfilled unless we, in the international community, direct our energies and resources to where the poor live and make their livings. This is why the UNCCD is a truly relevant and important instrument.

Despite the obviousness of this conclusion, mobilizing resources to combat desertification continues to be difficult. The UNCCD must convince donors and partner countries to respond to the link between desertification and poverty. A number of opportunities lie before us, including the upcoming World Food Summit: five years later, where we can raise the awareness of the objectives of the Convention.

First, the Financing for Development Conference will enable us to advocate and to explore new opportunities to generate resources to implement the UNCCD. Through the Rural Poverty Report 2001, IFAD established that to effectively reduce poverty increased resources must be directed to rural and agricultural development. In this context, IFAD is undertaking a process of consultation with our partners and the wider development community to mobilize greater support for financing rural development. Given the integral connection between financing rural development and attracting resources for UNCCD implementation, I invite all of you to participate in this important process.

Second, the Global Environment Facility Council has made IFAD an executing agency and recommends the incorporation of land degradation into its focal areas. IFAD applauds these developments and looks forward to strengthening its partnership with the GEF. We are now working together to further develop IFAD's relationship with GEF, particularly as IFAD becomes an Executing Agency. The Executive Board of IFAD has authorized a Memorandum of Understanding between our institutions, and I am delighted that tomorrow we will formally sign this important agreement with GEF.

Third, the World Summit on Sustainable Development demands an assessment of how the objectives of the UNCCD have been advanced, given its origins at Rio. Yet, the value of this assessment lies not only in showing what has been done to halt desertification, but also in demonstrating that the institutions tasked by the UNCCD to advance its principles are equipped to meet the challenges confronting them.

Mr. Chairman,

The negotiations on the UNCCD were difficult to achieve, and a spirit of compromise pervaded. Many of you will recall that, in the context of these negotiations, the Parties acknowledge the role of the GM as being crucial to their work. This acknowledgement was confirmed last year, when, in decision 11, the COP called for strengthening the GM to enable it to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of UNCCD implementation.

The time for action is now. Affected Parties are entering the most important phase, moving from planning to action. The GM is in a "build-up" stage, in which it should grow and develop to meet the evolving needs of the Parties. The GM must be equipped with sufficient resources to do so. It has already received a steep increase in the number of requests from affected countries for its services. It is clear that this growth will continue, and that the current level of five professional staff will not suffice.

When submitting our offer to host the Mechanism, it was IFAD's clear understanding that the COP would provide core budget levels that equipped the GM with sufficient human and financial resources. Both IFAD and UNDP, in offering to host the GM, estimated that such levels would need to fall between USD2.8 million to USD3.3 million annually. Further, when the COP met two years ago in Recife and considered the budget, we proposed a framework that would provide the GM with USD1.75 million in 2000, rising to USD2.5 million in 2001 and to USD3.0 million in 2002. In contrast, the GM today receives a core budget of USD1.35 million. The human and financial resources now being requested for the GM are entirely commensurate not only with evolving needs of the country Parties, but also with original cost estimates. I urge the COP to take the steps necessary to fulfill this request.

Contributions from IFAD and other select donors have allowed the GM to fulfill its interventions to date. It was never the intention, however, that such contributions would cover the GM's administrative costs. Rather, these funds are needed to support the GM's catalytic role, in which it uses such resources to leverage new investments on the ground. As I noted earlier, IFAD will again contribute USD2.5 million to the GM for such catalytic investments, and I urge all country Parties to affirm their support for the Mechanism by providing similar voluntary contributions.

IFAD is pleased with the progress the GM has achieved to date in fulfilling its mandate, especially given severe resource constraints in which it has been obliged to operate. The GM has conducted a number of activities to support UNCCD implementation through actions such as:

• Providing catalytic funds to forge partnerships with governments, UN agencies, Multilateral Development Banks, NGOs and the UNCCD Secretariat;
• Leveraging investments acting on UNCCD principles;
• Providing technical assistance in and support to the development of national, sub-regional and regional action programs; and
• Mainstreaming the principles of the UNCCD within development planning in the affected countries.

The GM, however, cannot act alone in these efforts. The principles of the UNCCD must be mainstreamed into development planning of the affected countries and the work of all multilateral institutions, not incorporated as an afterthought.

I am pleased to report that this process is underway within IFAD. Working with the GM, we have initiated a mainstreaming process in North Africa. In Tunisia and Morocco, IFAD is now developing and implementing projects that address priority activities identified in the context of National Action Programmes (NAPs). The GM is also reviewing IFAD's Country Strategic Opportunities Papers - the overall framework that guides IFAD project interventions - to further integrate UNCCD NAP priorities in IFAD project operations. This will enable IFAD to target UNCCD NAP objectives more coherently and to harmonize our financial resources for dryland development with UNCCD objectives. We anticipate that up to a third of IFAD's total annual lending program of close to USD500 million, could be dedicated to projects and programs directly relevant to UNCCD objectives in the affected countries.

In these and many other ways, the GM is an asset to the operations of its housing agency. In response to the GEF Council decisions taken in May 2001, and in line with its ongoing work to enhance GEF support to UNCCD implementation, the GM has assisted IFAD's regional division for Latin America and the Caribbean identify environmental concerns of global significance in dryland priority areas.

Among established IFAD operations in Northeast Brazil, the GM is fostering a process by which IFAD can demonstrate its comparative advantage as a GEF Executing Agency, in terms of promoting a participatory and multi-stakeholder approach in our operations that is consistent with Brazilian plans and strategies.

This case illustrates the value added of GM partnership with IFAD and GEF in forging opportunities based on land degradation. This will strengthen both IFAD primary financing objectives and GEF's role as financing institution of initiatives regarding environmental issues of global significance.

Mr. Chairman,

This Fifth meeting of the COP takes place at a critical time. It also takes place in an environment of conflicting realities. While bilateral and multilateral donors reaffirm their commitment to poverty reduction, in the wake of the Millennium Summit, these commitments have been made during a time where ODA has dropped not only to agriculture and rural development but overall.

It is not surprising, therefore, that progress to date in halving poverty by 2015 has been disappointing. Worldwide, poverty reduction is occurring at one-third the required rate to meet the poverty reduction target. In Africa, it is proceeding at one sixth of the requisite rate. This lack of progress demonstrates that our finest commitments-no matter how laudable-will not make a difference unless our words are met with action.

COP must do its part. The UNCCD is a historic recognition of and solution to one of the significant constraints that trap the poor in destitution. Ending desertification alone will not end poverty. It is, however, a vital element of the solution. Indeed, the best laid plans for sustainable development can be lost to desertification. The Convention was a promise to the poor that something would be done. We must ensure that this treaty does not become empty words on paper, but a living document with real commitments to action. We at IFAD will continue to do our part, and call on all of our partner organizations, donors, and the affected countries to do the same. We all must join in moving forward toward the ultimate goal that we share, a world without poverty.

Thank you.

Geneva, Switzerland
8 October 2001