Every June 17, the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed to raise public awareness about this issue, demonstrate that solutions and tools exist to combat desertification if everyone cooperates, and strengthen the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in countries affected by severe drought or desertification, particularly in Africa.
The matter requires significant attention, even more so in these times. When land degrades and ceases to be productive, natural spaces deteriorate and transform. Consequently, greenhouse gas emissions increase, and biodiversity decreases.
It also means fewer wild spaces to buffer zoonoses, such as COVID-19, and protect us from extreme weather events like droughts, floods, and sand and dust storms.
It is for this reason that the Convention to Combat Desertification, a UN body that leads the international day’s celebrations, calls on the entire global community to treat land as a precious and limited natural capital that we must restore.
June 17: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
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