Source: Times of India
MUMBAI: The United Nations today conveyed regret over the Government of Canada’s withdrawal from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The convention is the only legally binding instrument to addresses desertification, land degradation, and drought.
“The Convention is stronger than ever before, which makes Canada’s decision to withdraw from the Convention all the more regrettable,” the UNCCD secretariat said in a press release from Germany. “We believe Canada will seize every opportunity to support efforts to sustain the implementation of the Convention for the good of present and future generations,” the UNCCD said.
The treaty essentially seeks to safeguard key resources such as food, water, and energy security, and to build the resilience of rural ecosystems to absorb climatic shocks like droughts.
Canada contributed around three percent of the total convention’s budget.
Only time will tell what implications this withdrawal would have on countries like India which are signatories to the treaty. This is perhaps all the more pertinent at a time when at least four states are in the thick of a drought.