The 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is set to take place this October in Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province.

At the COP 9 held on the 4th of October, 2009 in Buenos Aires. Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province was chosen as the venue to host the COP 10 in 2011.

The Korea Forest Service (KFS) expects that its hosting of the COP 10 will open up another floor to call for countries to continue and expand efforts to implement the UNCCD.

The KFS and Gyeongnam Province which previously hosted the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 2008 are closely working together to make a successful hosting of the COP 10 in cooperation with the secretariat of the UNCCD.

To publicize the hosting of the COP 10 in Korea and to raise public awareness of desertification and land degradation, the KFS and Gyeongnam Province initiated a campaign on combating desertification, encouraging NGOs and individuals to participate, and have been carrying out PR events both nationwide and worldwide including photo exhibitions, street campaigns and promotion booths.

Also, more activities have been organized in the same context. In observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (June 17), commemorative events and symposiums took place in Korea. The KFS hosted an event last year in cooperation with a non-profit organization, Korea Green Promotion Agency. At the event titled 'Planting Trees to Combat Desertification in Mongolia' in Lun som in June last year, 400 poplar trees were planted by 100 participants including local residents.

Meanwhile, Gyeongnam Province carried out a street campaign on the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought in Changwon City. Volunteers distributed seedlings and leaflets with the aim of increasing public awareness and calling for their support. About 5,000 Changwon citizens joined the street campaign and showed great interest.

Last year on October 12, the KFS organized an international symposium on combating desertification in tandem with the Asia regional launch of the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (UNDDD) in Seoul, Korea. This symposium featured speeches and presentations by Mr. Luc Gnacadja, the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD and prominent desertification experts from Germany, China, the United States and the UNCCD, and served as a great platform for in-depth discussions.

This year's international symposium on combating desertification will be organized in conjunction with the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought in June.

The KFS continues to make its utmost efforts to carry out a well-thought plan for the hosting of COP 10 this year.