World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 17 June 2024 – There is no doubt that droughts pose a serious threat to sustainable development, especially in developing countries, but increasingly also in developed countries. Forecasts predict that by 2050 drought will affect roughly three-quarters of humanity. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced that the global observance of the event on the occasion of desertification day 2022 will take place in Madrid, Spain.
- As per WMO 2021, over the past two decades, droughts have increased by 29 percent in number and duration. Considering there are already 2.3 billion people facing water stress, this is an enormous problem.
- A growing number of people will be living in areas with extreme water shortages, including an estimated one in four children (UNICEF) by 2040.
- As per UN-Water 2021, all countries experience droughts.
| Event Name | World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought |
| Day | 17 June 2024 |
| Theme | United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future |
| Host Country | The Federal Republic of Germany |
| Organization | UN Convention to Combat Desertification |
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World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme 2024
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2024 theme is “United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future”. The International Day Against Desertification and Drought, emphasizes the importance of taking action early to avoid disastrous consequences for humanity and planetary ecosystems.
Previous Year’s World Desertification Day Themes
| 2021 | Restoration, land and recovery. We build back better with healthy land |
| 2020 | Food. Feed. Fibre |
| 2019 | Let’s Grow the Future Together |
| 2018 | Land has true value. Invest in it |
| 2017 | Our Land. Our Home. Our Future |
| 2016 | Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People. |
| 2015 | No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soil |
| 2014 | Land Belongs to the Future – Let’s Climate Proof It |
| 2013 | Don’t let our Future Dry Up |
| 2012 | Healthy Soil Sustains Your Life: Let’s go Land -Degradation Neutral |
| 2011 | Plant for your future |
| 2010 | Enhancing Soils Anywhere Enhances Life Everywhere |
| 2009 | Conserving land and water = Securing our common future |
| 2008 | Combating land degradation for sustainable agriculture |
| 2007 | Desertification and Climate Change – One Global Challenge |
| 2006 | The Beauty of Deserts – The Challenge of Desertification |
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What is desertification?
Desertification refers to the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry subhumid regions. Climate change and human activities are the primary causes of desertification. Deforestation is not desertification. This is largely due to dryland ecosystems being extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use, covering over a third of the globe’s land area. Deforestation, overgrazing, political instability, poverty, and bad irrigation practices can all reduce the productivity of the land.
How to reduce desertification?
Among the measures to reduce desertification are:
- Tree regeneration and reforestation.
- Saving, reusing treated water, harvesting rainwater, desalinating water, or directly using seawater.
- The construction of sand fences, shelter belts, woodlots, and windbreaks as means of buttressing the soil.
- The planting of plants to enrich and fertilize the soil.
- By selectively pruning shrub shoots, farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) encourages the growth of native sprouting trees. Pruning the trees leaves behind a residue that can be used to mulch fields, preventing evaporation and increasing soil moisture retention.
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International Day Against Desertification and Drought Significance
Observed annually, the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought promotes public awareness of the international effort to combat desertification. Through problem-solving, strong community involvement, and cooperation at all levels, this day is a unique opportunity to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality can be achieved.
More attention is needed now than ever before. Natural spaces deteriorate and transform when the land ceases to be productive and degrades. This leads to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and a decrease in biodiversity. Similarly, there will be fewer wild spaces to protect us from zoonoses like COVID-19 as well as extreme weather patterns like drought, flood, and sandstorms.
The UNCCD calls on all members of the global community to regard land as a limited and precious resource, to prioritize land health in pandemic recovery, and to work hard to restore the land during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. All of us have a stake in the future, so we all have a role to play.
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Desertification Day History
In 1992, the Rio Earth Summit identified desertification, climate change, and biodiversity loss as the greatest challenges to sustainable development.
By its resolution A/RES/49/115, the General Assembly declared 17 June “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought,” setting up the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the only legally binding international agreement linking environmental protection with sustainable land management.
The United Nations General Assembly declared in 2007 that 2010-2020 would be the UN Decade for Deserts and Climate Change and the fight against Desertification, led by the UNCCD Secretariat again.
In the drylands – the arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems reside – UNCCD’s 197 parties (169 of whom are affected by desertification) work together to restore land and soil productivity and prevent the effects of drought.
Around 70 drought-prone countries have developed national action plans to reduce drought disasters since 2017, thanks to the UNCCD and its partners.
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World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Activities
Whatever activities we take up even with the help of Governments and businesses, that must translate into an effect. Every one of us can contribute to the protection and restoration of the land. Here are some ways you can help.
- Educate your community about ways to build back with healthy land: evaluate the harmony between your community and nature and propose solutions. Urban and rural communities can benefit from the expertise of landscapers, land economists, and agricultural university student chapters to improve their landscaping, restore their land, and restore their communities through community conservation projects. Support local economies and reduce unnecessary CO2 emissions resulting from the transportation of food and other consumables over long distances by educating yourself on the costs of pollution generated by your everyday consumption.
- Join groups that care about the environment and flag the important role land plays in building back better: ask for the implementation of government commitments on land restoration, drought resilience, and land use planning; suggest “pro-land” projects to your city, like enhancing biodiversity in parks, beautifying and greening neighborhoods, and promoting local food; and write letters to your local government representatives.
- Organize a project and invite environmentally conscious companies to participate.
- Become part of a global movement of 10 actions to celebrate the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
- Join the #Droughtland Campaign. Send a special Droughtland postcard or information booth to encourage your country to avoid becoming a Droughtland – a nation that is suffering from drought; tag, post, share and encourage hope. Be responsible. Spread the word.
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought FAQ
World Day Against Desertification and Drought is observed every year on 17th June.
“United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future” is the theme for 2024 Desertification and Drought Day.
Plant trees, shrubs, and flowers with a water-efficient irrigation system such as drip irrigation. Reduce irrigation in the fall and turn it off in the winter. Hand-water only if necessary during the winter. Reduce evaporation by mulching trees and plants.
Desertification is mainly caused by land degradation, overgrazing, land clearing, overexploitation of natural and cultivated lands, as well as by using land in a way that is out of tune with the local conditions.
Germany is organizing a global-level event on the observance of combat Desertification Day.