2nd Leg of the 4th National Report to the UNCCD

As a Party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD) since August 1997, Barbados is required under Article 26, to prepare reports every two years on measures taken to implement the Convention. The periodicity of reporting is determined by the Conference of the Parties (COP). The Fourth national Report was completed in 2010 and is in draft form awaiting approval.

Under the UNCCD, the Government of Barbados, through the Ministry of Environment and Drainage has undertaken the task of preparing and submitting the second leg of the Fourth National Report. This process will involve consultations with all relevant stakeholders before the completion of the online Performance Review Assessment of Implementation System (PRAIS) and submission to the UNCCD’s online global database.

To ensure that all parties to the UNCCD are able to contribute to the global database, via the PRAIS, the reporting process has been broken down into seven (7) core indicators, each of which is broken down into eleven (11) more specific reporting criteria at the national level. Of these eleven (11) reporting criteria, only two (2) are mandatory for the acceptable submission of the information to the global database. These two criteria are Proportion of the population in affect areas living above the poverty line and Land cover status. Other indicators include:

Water availability per capita in affect areas
Change in land use
Childhood malnutrition and/or food consumption/calorie intake per capita in affected areas
The Human development index as defined by the UNDP
Level of land degradation (including salinization, water and wind erosion etc.)
Plant and animal biodiversity
The aridity index
Carbon stocks above and below ground
Land under Sustainable Land Management

The main objective of this report is to facilitate the mandatory reporting to the UNCCD, utilising the PRAIS to provide crucial and comprehensive information on the effects of desertification and drought on the environmental, social and economic status of the country and its citizens as well as measures being taken to control, mitigate and reduce desertification, drought and their effects

Alignment of the National Action Plan

Dec3/COP 8 adopted the 10 Year Strategy and ‘urged affected developing country parties to align their action programs by addressing the outcomes under the five operational objectives’ and ‘requested Parties to report on progress made in their implementation of the Strategy based on the reporting guidelines to be considered at the 9^th COP’.

Through the National Reporting process and the practical use of the Performance Review and Assessment of Implementation System (PRAIS), a quantitative baseline for monitoring progress towards the achievement of the objectives of the 10 Year Strategy has already been established.

As Party to the convention, Barbados has begun the process of enacting a National Action Plan (NAP) that is aligned to the UNCCD’s 10 Year Strategic Plan. The Draft of the NAP was completed in 2011, and is to be revised and aligned according to the aims and goals of the Strategy. This process will consist of stock-taking, consultations and revision of policies and programs and an indication of a financial strategy for NAP implementation. The aligned NAP will be linked to the national development agenda as well as the UNCCD’s strategic objectives, utilizing the performance/impact indicators mandated by the COP.

The primary objective of this project is to facilitate alignment of Barbados’ National Action Plan to the 10-year strategic plan and framework to enhance the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought.