Second National Action Programme to Combat Desertification

The Second National Action Program to Combat Desertification is a national cross-sectoral program of Georgia for the period of 2014-2022. Its main objective is to forge a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification and land degradation, and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.The Program identifies key operational objectives which are used to break down the specific actions. Namely, the Operational Objective 1 entails supporting advocacy, awareness and education. For this, the outcomes are the following: (1) public awareness is raised on desertification and land degradation and drought issues and interrelation with climate change adaptation and mitigation, and biodiversity conservation; (2) desertification and land degradation and drought issues are addressed at relevant international forums, including those pertaining to agricultural trade, climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation; and (3) civil society organizations and the scientific community are engaged in the processes of implementation of the Convention. The Operational Objective 2 covers policy framework and contains the following outcomes: (1) policy, institutional, financial and socio-economic drivers of desertification and land degradation and barriers to sustainable land management are assessed, and appropriate measures to remove these barriers are recommended; (2) the existing national action program is revised (along with the renewal of biophysical and socio-economical information) as strategic document and is outlined in the integrated investment (financial) framework document; (3) the existing national action program, as well as sustainable land management, and land degradation aspects are integrated into the relevant sectoral and investment plans and policy documents; and (4) the activities under the national action program to combat desertification and land degradation and biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation programs are planned and their implementation are organized inter-coordinated – in a way that enhances the cumulative effects of the result of these measures. The Operational Objective 3 pertains to science, technology and knowledge including the following outcomes: (1) national monitoring and vulnerability assessment on biophysical and socio-economic trends are carried out; (2) the databases on the basis of the most reliable data of biophysical, social and economic trends and a gradual harmonization of relevant scientific approaches are created; (3) creating knowledge on biophysical and socioeconomic factors, and enabling better decision-making based on their interactions; (4) knowledge of the interactions between climate change adaptation, drought mitigation and restoration of degraded land in affected areas is improved to develop tools to assist decision-making; and (5) effective knowledge-sharing systems, including traditional knowledge, are in place at the global, regional, sub-regional and national levels to support policymakers and end users, including through the identification and sharing of best practices and success stories. Finally, the Operation Objective 4 relates to capacity building and aims for the following outcome: for the purpose of the global environmental protection, national capacity building needs have been assessed and renewed; actions considered by the capacity building strategy and action plan are implemented at individual, institutional and systemic levels.According to the document, funding the activities considered by the Program must be implemented by every institution in accordance with the annual budget approved by the law and the document of the basic features and directions of a country in a frame of marginal values of a mid-term period.