montage n° 4 - Ministère de l'énergie et des mines

Sustainable SUSTAINABLE developmentDEVELOPMENTWorld Environment DayCry of alarm from the UNDeserts are threatened "as never before” whereas they could be atreasure of resources for the planet through the production of solarenergy or medicinal plants, warned the UN in a report published onthe occasion of the World Environment Day.Energie & Mines200November 2006"Far from being barren wastelands,deserts emerge as biologically, economicallyand culturally dynamic, while beingincreasingly subject to the impacts andpressures of the modern world”, explained,on this occasion, Mr ShafqatKakakhel, executive director of theUnited Nations EnvironmentProgramme.Deserts also "emerge as places of neweconomic and livelihood possibilities,underlining yet again that the environmentis not a luxury, but a key element inthe fight against poverty and the deliveryof internationally-agreed developmentgoals”, he added.At least one quarter of the planet's landsurface - some 33.7 million square kilometres- is considered as desert land andis inhabited by 500 million people, accordingto the UNEP report.But without careful management in thefuture, the unique landscapes, ancientcultures, flora and fauna in these areasare at risk of disappearing, warned,during a press conference in London,one of the authors of the report, MrAndrew Warren, professor of geographyat University College London."What alarms me now is that they arethreatened as never before by climatechange, by the over-exploitation ofgroundwater, salinisation and the extinctionof wildlife”, he said. The overall temperatureincrease in desert regions of between0.5 and 2 degrees Celsius between1976 and 2000 has been much higherthan the average global rise of 0.45°C.Temperatures in the deserts mightincrease from 5 to 7 degrees by 2071-2100.Drying rivers, inefficient water use suchas irrigation and population growth willadd to water shortages. Saudi Arabia,Syria, Pakistan, the west of China, Chad,Iraq and Niger will be particularly affected,predicts the report.Road building, pollution, tourism andhunting are threatening flora and faunaand several desert species are disappearingor quickly reducing in numbers.Other threats comes from political instability,leading to increased use of desertareas for activities such as military training,prisons and refugee camps."These deserts are unique and dynamiceco-systems and, if sensitively treated,can provide the answers to many of thechallenges that we face today, whetherit's for energy, for food or for medicine,said Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Director,UNEP's World Conservation MonitoringCentre, based in Cambridge.Deserts could become the carbon-freepowerhouses of the 21st century, harnessingthe wind and sun.A desert the size of the Sahara could captureenough solar energy to meet theentire world's electricity needs, accordingto Mr Zahedi."Animals and wild plants are new sourcesfor pharmaceutical research, industrialproducts and agriculture”, indicated theUNEP.The Nipa, a plant harvested by theCocopahs people in the north-west ofMexico produces large yields of a grainabout the size of wheat. "This vegetalspecies could make a major contributionto food security and thus become thegreatest gift offered by the desert to therest of the world”, indicated the UNEP.Plants discovered in the Neguev desertcan help to fight against cancer and malaria.Others, found in Morocco, Arizonaand Argentina, also have medicinal properties."The pharmaceutical potential ofdesert plants has yet to be tapped”,according to the report.Message from the DirectorGeneral of theOrganisation for theProhibition of ChemicalWeapons to Mr ChakibKhelil“Thank you verymuch for the supportyou have givento the Convention onthe Prohibition ofChemical Weapons”"Dear Minister,I am delighted with our recent bilateralmeeting held during the visit I made toAlgiers from 20 to 22 February 2006 andgreatly thank you for the support youhave given to the Convention on theProhibition of Chemical Weapons.Our bilateral meeting, particular the fruitfuldiscussions we had in Algiers, areproof of your commitment to work in closecollaboration with the TechnicalSecretariat of the Organisation for theProhibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW) and the key role which yourMinistry plays in the national efforts forthe effective implementation of theconvention. In this perspective, I wouldlike to emphasise that the TechnicalSecretariat is ready to cooperate with theMinistry of Energy and Mines to achieveour common objectives.I hope that you will be able to visit us atthe OPCW headquarters, in The Hague,in the near future.”M. Rogelio Pfirter