The Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa, agreed in June 1994, encourages governments to begin implementing the ICD immediately, even though ratification of the Convention is still a couple of years away. The Resolution on interim arrangements sets out the necessary measures to enable work to continue on the ICD, continuing the mandate of the interim Secretariat until the first COP and making provision for the 6th meeting of the negotiating committee to be held in January 1995. The Secretariat remains an independent entity for the time being, based in Geneva, and with the task of making arrangements for meetings, compiling and transmitting reports submitted to it, and facilitating urgent action for Africa. The committee on science and technology will be established by the COP and will be composed of government representatives competent in the various fields relevant to desertification. At the same time, the COP will set up an independent roster of experts, to be called upon for work on specific topics.
Many people prefer to use the term dryland degradation, since it is less liable to mislead.
Desertification conjures up in the mind an image of an advancing desert, whose progress must be halted by establishing a physical barrier, such as a belt of trees. Despite the popular image of an advancing desert, there is no evidence for this happening. Instead, the desert frontier shifts over time, depending on the rainfall received that year. In a drought year such as 1984, the desert advances as plants fail to germinate and others die, while in a year of heavy rainfall, such as 1988 and 1994, the desert retreats, as grasses and shrubs re-establish themselves. There are localised problems of sand dune movement which need to be tackled where this threatens a village, road, or waterway.