GENEVA - An international treaty aimed at arresting creeping desertification of the planet, a scourge threatening an estimated one billion people in poor and rich countries, came into force yesterday.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification, signed by 115 countries and ratified by 55, stemmed from the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit.
Africa, where the impact of desertification is greatest, was a main force behind the treaty, which has an innovative aid spending strategy and a new approach to managing dryland ecosystems.
