environmental degradation as a cause of conflict in - Steiner Graphics

to be assisted with research materials and financial resources in order to help theirstudents develop a commitment to research in this vital contemporary field.Participants asked the conference organisers to utilise the academic atmosphere,the quality of the papers, and the innovations discussed in the colloquium as abasis for helping to sustain the earnest and active search for permanent solutions.The Role of Media InstitutionsExperts in the fields of journalism and public relations cited the need for accomplished,thorough, and broad media institutions. Reporting the crisis in Darfurrequires a comprehensive and balanced approach. The more that people refrainfrom talking to the news media, and thus expressing their views and assessments ofthe situation, the more that diverse elements of the conflict will be obscured. Dr.Colton, United States Embassy in Khartoum, observed that the journalistic principleof fairness requires reasonable coverage and representation of all sides in news stories,and those who have something to say, but, for whatever reason, are resentfuland unwilling to talk to the media must know that professional rules preserve theirright not to be named in relevant reports. International news reporters are fightingagainst what is called the ‘compassion fatigue’ of the public, due to frequentlyrecurring horrendous crises all over the world.Combating Desertification and Development Strategies:Evaluation of Past ExperiencesEcological problems that have arisen in the past four decades have not remainedwithout serious attempts – whether successful or unsuccessful – to combat or mitigatetheir effects on the population and the national economy.A Master Plan for Combating Desertification in the Sudan was jointly preparedby the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the United States National Research Council,the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations DevelopmentProgram (UNDP), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The resultingDesert Encroachment Control and Rehabilitation Program (DECARP) of 1974 wasfollowed by a Draft Plan of Action to Combat Desertification in 1986. The plan wasprepared by Sudanese staff and adopted by UNEP, who chose the Sudan as one ofthree countries in the world to be supported due to the potentially dangerous situation.Three sub-projects were established as part of DECAEP: Sand Dunes Fixation,Shelterbelt Establishment, and Gum Belt Restocking.Agricultural experts with long experience in Sudan played a significant role inthe conference by throwing light on rural projects and schemes, both centrally andlocally administered, which have been implemented in Darfur since the 1960s. An18