Q. Consider the following statements regarding United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification:
1. legally binding international agreement which links environment and development to sustainable land management
2. Desertification is a type of land degradation in which the biological productivity of land is lost due to natural processes only
Which of the above statements is/are correct? 
Answer: A
Notes:
Statement 2 is incorrect
About UNCCD:
- It was established in 1994
- It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
- The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the dryland, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found
- The Convention’s 197 parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.
- The UNCCD is particularly committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification and land degradation.
- The UNCCD secretariat facilitates cooperation between developed and developing countries, particularly around knowledge and technology transfer for sustainable land management.
- The UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions– The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
- India for the first time hosted the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in September 2019
Source: Article
