The media was once filled with images of encroaching deserts and
starving populations. Attention has since shifted to other issues, but
the problems remain. Desertification is acute not only in familiar
desert regions such as the Sahara, but in regions such as the Sahelian
and Other drylands which comprise nearly thirty-five percent of the
earth\u27s total land area. Mr. Danish analyzes the Desertification
Convention of 1995, discussing both the Convention\u27s efforts to
address the environmental degradation and the Convention\u27s impact
on international notions of the state, crafting large-scale responses,
and generating centralized regulation. This Convention employs a
bottom-up approach; it focuses on local developmental issues and
the marginalized peoples living in the threatened areas. It provides
increased international recognition for non-governmental
organizations and local land users by obligating states to channel
authority and resources to them. The article presents an overview of
the Convention and analysis based on international environemental
legal norms. The author illustrates that, despite donor fatigue and
reticence on the part of developed nations, the bottom-up approach
in conjunction with creative financing methods will provide a more
effective means for dealing with a growing environmental crisis
