The e.forum starts on 25 January 2010 and will end on 25 March 2010. The proposed body would primarily provide scientific advice to the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) to aid decision-making to combat land degradation and to achieve sustainable land management and development in drylands. It may also be relevant to various on-going efforts to harmonize knowledge on land matters.  DesertNet International and UNU-INWEH have developed this e.forum to canvass contributions from different regions and interested parties on this issue and as an input into the decision made at COP9 that requests the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) to assess how to organise international, interdisciplinary scientific advice. This activity thus, supports the follow-up of the first scientific-style UNCCD conference to the CST SS-2 in 2010 which will be making recommendations to COP10.

Details for registering to the e.forum:

1. Enter http://www.desertnet-international.org
2. Click on <Register> (button on the top right)
3. Fill in the <Register form> (here you have to decide on a password, enter you name, affiliation etc...)
4. Click on submit to submit your <Register form>
5. A few minutes later you will receive an e.mail from redmine@example.net (If you don’t receive this mail, then kindly check whether it was caught in your SPAM filter)
6. Please click on redmine@example.net With this click you will activate your account.
7. Go back to the site http://www.desertnet-international.org and type in your <login> and your <password> which you typed in your <Register form>
8. In order to go directly to the survey questionnaire (9 questions) click on Click here to continue to the questionnaire - only 9 questions! You will find another link here for more background information as well: e.Consultation on Land Panel. 
9. IMPORTANT: Please don’t forget to press on the button <save> after answering each of the 9 questions.

If you have any problems registering or answering the questions please let us know.