September 1997 -  Global Mechanism

Two decades after its establishment, IFAD receives a new mission from the international community. The first Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) is held in Rome from 29 September to 10 October 1997. The CCD is the first international treaty with poverty eradication as a primary central concern. IFAD is selected to house the Global Mechanism of the Convention. The Global Mechanism has the vital role of ensuring the availability of adequate financial resources for the implementation of the CCD. The decision, made at a ministerial-level assembly of the 113 countries that ratified the Convention, marks the successful conclusion of an intergovernmental negotiating process initiated in 1995 to articulate the third Convention envisaged by the 1992 Rio Conference. The other two, Biodiversity and Climate Change, are already in place. For the 1.5 billion inhabitants of the dry zones of our planet, the successful completion of the COP’s work represents a decisive step forward in building the much-needed global coalition to arrest and hopefully reverse the process of land degradation that is threatening their livelihood. IFAD, backed by its experience of USD 3 billion of investments in support of countries and communities vulnerable to drought and desertification, will be at the core of this coalition.

October 4, 1997 - Forum of Mayors and local governments

Mayors and local authorities from various regions of the world meet in the historic Sala della Protomoteca at the Campidoglio in Rome, Italy, to declare their close association with the objectives of the CCD. Recognizing that the social consequences of desertification and rural poverty also have a strong impact at the urban level, they resolve to work together to find answers to the problems caused by desertification-induced migration to the cities. The forum is organized by the City of Rome, IFAD and the Secretariat of the CCD.