World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

Mobilizing all generations in support of sustainable land stewardship is the focus of Desertification and Drought Day 2024, celebrated on 17 June, marking a pivotal moment in the global effort to combat land degradation and drought. Hosted by the Federal Republic of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Bonn, the event brought together changemakers from around the world under the theme "United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future". 

This year's event coincides with the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the sole global agreement dedicated to sustainable land management ratified by 196 countries and the European Union.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said: "As the focus of this year’s World Day reminds us, we must be “United for Land”. Governments, businesses, academics, communities and more must come together, and act. We know what we need to do: it’s set out clearly in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. As we mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention, the world must dramatically pick up the pace of implementation; Build momentum towards UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh; And ensure young people are heard in the negotiations. Together, let’s sow the seeds for a thriving future – for nature and humanity.”

President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “Today, we are not only commemorating the annual “Desertification and Drought Day”, but we are also celebrating 30 years of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. There is nothing more important, more basic, than good soil, safe food, and clean water. So let ‘s work together! And let ‘s bring in young people to make sure that our decisions today ensure their good future tomorrow. 2024 is a decisive year: What is discussed, negotiated and decided this year will shape our world and the lives of our children.”

UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said: "The future of our land is the future of our planet. By 2050, 10 billion people will depend on this vital resource. Yet we are losing the equivalent of four football fields to land degradation every second.”

State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth said: "Healthy soils form the basis of our future. No matter whether we are talking about climate change, biodiversity loss, or food crises – soil quality plays a central role for meeting these global challenges. Soils retain water and allow trees and plants to grow. We will only be able to feed humankind and deal with the climate crisis and its impacts if we have healthy soils."

Land degradation affects up to 40% of the world's land and nearly half the world's population, with the highest costs borne by those who can least afford it: indigenous communities, rural households, smallholder farmers, and especially youth and women.

More than a billion young people who live in developing countries depend on land and natural resources. Engaging youth in land restoration can create the estimated 600 million jobs needed in the next 15 years, contributing to both economic growth and environmental sustainability.

“For too long, desertification and drought have been seen as problems specific to the South. However, these phenomena are spreading globally and affect us all. The past year has been marked by many events that remind us of the urgency of action. This Desertification and Drought Day and the forthcoming COP16 in December must allow us to organize and fight against desertification and its consequences. There is no time to lose," stressed COP15 President Alain-Richard Donwahi.

Ten Land Heroes were announced by UNCCD at the global observance event. These young changemakers from around the world are working to restore land, boost resilience to drought, develop sustainable agricultural businesses, and harness technology and innovation to tackle global environmental challenges.  

“UNCCD recognizes the talents of young people as entrepreneurs and agents of change. They are key to transforming their communities and driving innovation in sustainable land management. From Brazil to Mali, from Philippines to Moldova, young leaders are committed to restoring land. We need their voices to shape the future of our planet,” Thiaw added.

The event culminated in a series of announcements and commitments to promote sustainable land management. A new programme to train youth negotiators to become future decision-makers on land and drought issues was launched. In its first year, youth negotiators from more than 30 countries will receive training ahead of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UNCCD, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2024.

Bonn Mayor Katja Dörner, in cooperation with UNCCD, inaugurated the city's first "land-friendly" school. This unique programme gives students the opportunity to learn about organic farming through both educational and practical lessons on the school's farmland.

Countries around the world also organized Desertification and Drought Day events. Italy issued a commemorative stamp, and the Belgian EU Presidency hosted a documentary screening and panel discussion on land restoration in Burkina Faso. Kenya planted over 120,000 seedlings as part of a tree planting and awareness campaign. Nigeria hosted a webinar on sustainable practices, while Tunisia held an online event on land degradation neutrality. India discussed sustainable land management in Chennai; Myanmar launched an online campaign and held a high-level event in Naypyidaw; and the Philippines organized tree planting activities and stakeholder workshops. Sri Lanka held an awareness-raising campaign, Guatemala linked sustainable development and land management, and Moldova held an interregional meeting on drought and land degradation neutrality.

For media inquiries, please contact:

UNCCD: [email protected]  

Portland Communications: [email protected]

To access #UNited4Land campaign materials as well as video and multimedia assets from the event: https://trello.com/b/VdJGolcp/desertification-and-drought-day-2024

Notes to Editors

Profiles of the Land Heroes cohort 2024

Brazil: Beatriz Azevêdo de Araújo, an environmental lawyer in Ceará, has turned her personal experience of drought into a mission for sustainable development. She ensures that energy projects are environmentally friendly and promotes green jobs.

Costa Rica: Astrid Peraza is a materials science engineer, climate and gender activist and storyteller from Costa Rica. She strives to empower women and girls, creating opportunities for growth and inspiring them to be changemakers.

Germany: Lina Pickhardt is leading efforts to rehabilitate degraded land and improve soil quality, while tackling wildlife trafficking. Lina's journey from witnessing environmental degradation to driving community-led restoration projects is a compelling story of transformation and impact.

India: Siddhesh Sakore is a farmer and the founder of AGRO RANGERS. He is passionate about solving the problems of soil degradation on agricultural land. He is committed to empowering small and marginal farmers from his community through innovative agroforestry models.

Mali: Rokiatou Traoré is a Malian entrepreneur passionate about tackling poverty, climate change and food insecurity. Through her social enterprise, Herou Alliance, she empowers women and youth by creating a sustainable moringa value chain in Mali.

Moldova: Aliona Isac is a young activist fighting desertification through sustainable agriculture and tree planting initiatives. Her work is restoring local landscapes and securing the future of her community.

Morocco: Manal Bidar is a climate activist from Morocco and the founder of the Moroccan Regional Youth Governments Project, which focuses on land conservation and combating drought and desertification in the Middle East and North Africa region. She works to amplify youth and marginalized voices in global climate resilience and land advocacy.

Philippines: Billie Dumaliang is the co-founder and advocacy director of the Masungi Geo reserve Foundation, known for protecting a karst ecosystem near Metro Manila. The foundation has won several awards, including the 2022 UN SDG Inspire Award.

USA: Grace Magny Fokam is the founder of Folia Technologies, a non-profit, youth-led research institute that's dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence technologies that address the climate crisis. Their flagship invention, FoliaNet, is an AI-powered device that detects diseases in crops.

Zimbabwe: Recent graduate Takudzwa Ashley Mlambo has launched the country's largest reforestation initiative, aiming to plant one billion trees by 2030. His project dovetails with the government's goal of restoring 2.5 million hectares of degraded land.

About UNCCD

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an international agreement on good land stewardship. It helps people, communities and countries create wealth, grow economies and secure enough food, clean water and energy by ensuring land users an enabling environment for sustainable land management. Through partnerships, the Convention’s 197 parties set up robust systems to manage drought promptly and effectively. Good land stewardship based on sound policy and science helps integrate and accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilience to climate change and prevents biodiversity loss.

Today we mark the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) the only legally binding international treaty on land management and drought; one of the three Rio Conventions together with climate change and biodiversity.

The Global observance of the Desertification and Drought Day 2024  will be hosted by the Government of Germany on 17 June at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn. The event will also mark the 30th anniversary of UNCCD. It will bring together leaders, youth and prominent personalities from the fields of politics, academia, civil society, the private sector and entertainment to showcase a strong ambition to be united for land, ahead of the largest-ever UN conference on land and drought – UNCCD COP 16 – that will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2024.

This year, the theme will spotlight the future of land stewardship — our most precious resource to ensure the stability and prosperity of billions of people around the world. Healthy land not only provides us with almost 95% of our food but so much more: it clothes and shelters us, provides jobs and livelihoods, and protects us from the worsening droughts, floods and wildfires.Yet, every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy land becomes degraded, adding up to a total of 100 million hectares each year. Growing word populations, coupled with unsustainable production and consumption patterns, fuel demand for natural resources, putting excessive pressure on land to the point of degradation. Desertification and drought are driving forced migration, putting tens of millions of people each year at risk of displacement. Of the world’s 8 billion inhabitants, over one billion of young people under the age of 25 years live in developing countries, particularly in regions directly dependent on land and natural resources for sustenance. Creating job prospects for rural populations is a viable solution that gives young people access to eco-entrepreneurship opportunities and at the same time to scale up best practices. Each USD invested in land restoration can yield up to 30 USD in return. 

But did you know that agroforestry can take many forms?

Agroforestry is a practice that involves the combination of trees or shrubs with crop or livestock production.

Every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy land becomes degraded, adding up to a total of 100 million hectares each year

Each dollar invested in land restoration can yield up to $30 in return

In many countries affected by desertification, land degradation and drought, agriculture represents a high share of economic revenue

Under UNCCD, over 130 countries have already pledged to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030 towards a world where human activity has a neutral, or even positive, impact on the land

The United Nations supports innovative efforts worldwide, including the newly launched Great Green Wall Observatory, which tracks progress of Africa’s largest land restoration initiative to combat land degradation, desertification and the negative impacts of climate change in the Sahel region

The UN Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established a growing national and global networks of “Geoparks” combining conservation and sustainable development, with 213 UNESCO Global Geoparks operating in 48 countries and counting

Learn more about how the United Nations is helping.

On June 17th, to observe the Desertification and Drought Day, We will focus on the future of land stewardship. Every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy land becomes degraded – adding up to a total of 100 million hectares every year.

Engaging present and future generations is more important than ever to halt and reverse these alarming trends and meet global commitments to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030. The theme chosen for this year's Desertification and Drought Day — “United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future.” — seeks to mobilize all parts of society in support of sustainable land stewardship.

17 June 2024 will also mark the 30th anniversary of the Bonn-based United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)— the sole legally binding international treaty on land management and drought ; one of the three Rio Conventions alongside climate change and biodiversity.

Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said: “Up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded, affecting  close to half of humanity. Yet the solutions are on the table. Land restoration lifts people out of poverty and builds resilience to climate change. It is time to unite for land and show a red card to land loss and degradation worldwide.”

Hosted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the global observance event will take place at the Bundeskunsthalle (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) in Bonn on Monday, 17 June 2024.

“Around a quarter of the world’s population is affected by drought. The condition of our soils in Europe is also deteriorating rapidly. Protecting soil and land is a global challenge. We need to take action together today so that the generations to come can have access to vital natural resources. We will only be able to feed humankind and deal with the climate and biodiversity crisis if we have healthy soils,” Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Bringing together leaders from all over the world, youth and prominent personalities from academia, civil society, sports and entertainment, the global observance event will showcase a strong ambition to be united for land, ahead of the largest-ever UN conference on land and drought in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2024 (UNCCD COP16).

Throughout May and June, UNCCD together with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the City of Bonn as their partner, will kick-start a #UNited4Land public awareness campaign and will be engaged in various events in and around Bonn on the future of land stewardship.

Katja Dörner,  Lady Mayor of Bonn said: “As the home of the UNCCD and a city on the path towards climate neutrality in 2035, Bonn can only think and protect climate, nature and land together. Land is everything— and so much more than the area our city is built on. Land is the soil on which our crops grow, a habitat for plants and animals, a sponge for water, open space and cooling corridor— and a legacy that we pass on to future generations.”

Countries around the world are mobilizing to mark Desertification and Drought Day with an array of educational, cultural and sporting activities—from film screenings to football tournaments and from tree planting to gardening competitions. A full programme of events will be available online at: https://www.unccd.int/events/desertification-drought-day.

About Desertification and Drought Day

Officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994 (A/RES/49/115), Desertification and Drought Day, marked annually on 17 June, has the following objectives:  

To promote public awareness of the issues linked to desertification, land degradation and drought

To showcase human-led solutions to prevent desertification and reverse intensifying droughts

To strengthen the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Take part in this year’s celebration:

To find out more about this year’s Desertification and Drought Day, click here: https://www.unccd.int/DDD2024

To access #UNited4Land campaign materials, click here: https://trello.com/b/VdJGolcp/desertification-and-drought-day-2024

To learn more about Desertification and Drought Day activities around the world, click here: https://www.unccd.int/events/desertification-drought-day/2024/events-around-world

For online participation in the global observance event in Bonn, please contact: communications(at)unccd.int

For more information, please contact:

UNCCD: Xenya Scanlon, +49 152 5454 0492, [email protected] or Yannis Umlauf, +49 178 285 8629 [email protected] with copy to [email protected]  

BMZ: Press Unit, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Tel: +49 (0)30 18 535-2451, Email: [email protected], www.bmz.de

An atmospheric river (AR) is a narrow corridor of moisture and moisture transport in the atmosphere.  Zhu and Newell (1998) estimate that the moisture flux in a typical AR is comparable to the flux in the Amazon River, roughly 160 million kg/sec.  ARs play a crucial role in heavy precipitation and flooding, including the so-called mega-floods (Dettinger and Ingram, 2013; Ralph and Dettinger, 2012; Moore et al., 2012).

ARs are classified based on the source of the moisture.  ARs with the moisture source in the East Pacific are often called “Pineapple Express” storms (Dettinger, 2004), and occur more in northern hemisphere winters.  Moisture transport from the West Pacific produces the Bai-u / Mei-yu (as it’s known in Japanese / Chinese) rainy season in northern hemisphere summers (Knippertz and Wernli, 2010).  Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea reaches the inland continental United States via the Great Plains Low Level Jet (Barandiaran et al., 2013).  This moisture transport occurs most frequently in northern hemisphere summers.  And the North Atlantic is a moisture source for Europe (Lavers et al., 2011; Stohl et al., 2008), with maximum transport in northern winters. 

Particularly interesting are cases where ARs meet high land topography because the upslope flow increases orographic contributions to precipitation rates. 

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought underlines the urgent need to halt land degradation through global cooperation and innovative solutions – such as those offered by nuclear science.  

For example, I’ offers a unique and powerful tool to map water resources and therefore protect them – building drought resilience for future generations. 

“We now know exactly which areas need special attention, and we know how to protect them to ensure our water supply for now and the coming decades,” said Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo from the National University of Costa Rica, which has been partnering with the IAEA to understand Costa Rica’s rainfall patterns. 

How does isotope hydrology help us build drought resilience?

Isotope hydrology is a nuclear technique that reveals how water moves through the land, ocean and atmosphere, providing information about the water’s origin, age, quality and movement. 

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Water (H2O) being composed of two atoms of Hydrogen and one of Oxygen, each drop has a unique isotopic ‘fingerprint’ or ‘signature’, depending on where it comes from. Scientists can track the movement and pollution of water along its path through the water cycle. 

For sixty years, the IAEA has been supporting researchers around the world gather and analyse water samples and created the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation, the worldwide monitoring network built by the IAEA to provide governments and researchers with the long-term, large-scale data they need to gain insights into climate processes at the local, regional and global scale.

Data and information help countries meet Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and deliver on the Water Action Agenda. Since 1962, water samples have been sent to the IAEA's laboratories in Vienna.  The results provide scientists with detailed information on the origin and age, and this information is entered into the largest online isotopic hydrology database. 

“This large amount of data allows researchers to better understand the water cycle globally and locally. For example: when, where, and how groundwater is recharged. This is key to decision makers to manage water resources, particularly in the light of climate change,” explains IAEA Isotope Hydrologist Lucia Ortega. 

The IAEA datasets and maps are freely available for analysts around the globe to study how changing global rainfall patterns affect local water resources.  These help countries understand how precipitation patterns change and how different rainfall events transfer to the groundwater system and help them also identify the exact source of water pollution when it occurs.  

The Global Water Analysis Laboratory Network

The IAEA is further promoting water cooperation through its Global Water Analysis Laboratory (GloWAL) Network.  Launched at the UN 2023 Water Conference, the GloWAL Network is a groundbreaking transformative tool in water analysis, empowering countries to independently generate chemical and isotopic water data.  

The network fosters collaboration, best-practices, knowledge-sharing and capacity building among laboratories bridging technical gaps between lower-, middle- and high-income countries. GloWAL’s objectives include enabling independent data collection in low- and middle-income countries, reducing technical disparities, attracting financial investment and promoting scientific innovation in water analysis.  

The First Coordination Meeting of GloWAL Network will take place in Vienna next week (18-20 June 2024).  

This year's theme of Desertification and Drought Day, “United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future,” underscores the critical importance of collective action to preserve our planet's vital land resources for future generations.

Land is the foundation of our food systems, with 95% of the world's food produced on agricultural land. However, one third of these lands are currently degraded. This degradation affects 3.2 billion people worldwide, particularly impacting rural communities and smallholder farmers who depend on land for their livelihoods, leading to increased hunger, poverty, unemployment, and forced migration.

Climate change further exacerbates these issues, posing significant challenges to sustainable land management and agriculture, and undermining ecosystems' resilience.

Protecting and restoring degraded land is essential to ending poverty and hunger, achieving food security, and improving the livelihoods of millions of people, especially in developing countries.

The sustainable management of land, soil and water ressources are essential to increase food production, conserve ecosystems, improve land, soil and water quality, and strengthen the resilience of rural communities to extreme weather events.

Addressing land degradation through a holistic, landscape approach is critical to ensuring food security and resilient livelihoods. Integrated Land Use Planning, land governance, and tenure security are fundamental to achieving land degradation neutrality. Over the past decade, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been at the forefront of technical programmes and activities supporting these initiatives.

In our efforts to restore and enhance ecosystem resilience and productivity, the following principles should be prioritized: 

We must prioritize women and youth who are vital stakeholders in land health and suffer most from land degradation, in order to ensure that science-based and people-centered land restoration becomes our legacy to future generations.

We can’t tackle land degradation without unlocking the economic potential of degraded lands and drylands and building back more resilient agrifood systems.  

Large-scale land restoration for small-scale farming is crucial to combat land degradation.

We need to use innovative monitoring and evaluation systems to measure progress towards achieving land degradation neutrality.

FAO remains committed to working closely with members and partners to combat land degradation, desertification and drought, striving for a land degradation-neutral world for present and future generations.

In the context of the World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification FAO will launch the Protocol for the assessment of sustainable soil management in an online roundtable. This Protocol will provide governments, technical institutes, NGOs and other stakeholders with the necessary tools and methodologies to assess and improve soil management practices. Details on this roundtable are forthcoming.

The future of our land is at stake. Desertification, land degradation, and drought are among the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, with up to 40% of all land area worldwide already considered degraded. Healthy land not only provides us with almost 95% of our food but so much more: it clothes and shelters us, provides jobs and livelihoods, and protects us from the worsening droughts, floods and wildfires.Yet, every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy land becomes degraded, adding up to a total of 100 million hectares each year. Growing word populations, coupled with unsustainable production and consumption patterns, fuel demand for natural resources, putting excessive pressure on land to the point of degradation. Desertification and drought are driving forced migration, putting tens of millions of people each year at risk of displacement. Of the world’s 8 billion inhabitants, over one billion of young people under the age of 25 years live in developing countries, particularly in regions directly dependent on land and natural resources for sustenance. Creating job prospects for rural populations is a viable solution that gives young people access to eco-entrepreneurship opportunities and at the same time to scale up best practices. Each USD invested in land restoration can yield up to 30 USD in return. 

This year, the theme of the Desertification and Drought Day “United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future” spotlights the future of land stewardship — our most precious resource to ensure the stability and prosperity of billions of people around the world.

The global observance of the Desertification and Drought Day 2024 will be hosted by the Government of Germany, a signatory to the convention and one of its dedicated supporters. Together with the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the City of Bonn, that has been home to the UNCCD Secretariat since 1999, we will organize a series of public-facing events. A photo exhibition, educational programmes and musical performances, together with a  social media campaign launched ahead of the Day, will serve to ensure the global reach of this years' theme.

Messages

Florika Fink-Hooijer, DG Environment

Further reading

Desertification and Drought Day 2024: Global observance

The next Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June 2024 will be hosted in Germany, we will also mark the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), one of the three Rio Conventions alongside climate and biodiversity. The announcement was made during the UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai, UAE by Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, and Ms. Katja Dörner, Lord Mayor of Bonn and member of the Local Government for Sustainability (ICLEI) Global Executive Committee on Climate Action and Low Emission Development Portfolio.

Land is the foundation of human wellbeing and plays a key role in regulating the planet’s climate. Yet up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, affecting nearly half of the world's population. Since 2000, the number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 per cent, representing a severe risk to ecosystems and peoples’ livelihoods.

The 2024 World Day to combatDesertification and Drought will focus on the transformative power of healthy land for addressing today’s most pressing and interconnected challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, food and water security – a blueprint for providing future generations with a healthy planet. The Day will amplify a renewed global commitment to sustainable land management and drought resilience in the run-up to UNCCD COP16, scheduled for 2–13 December 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said: “Desertification and Drought Day 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. In 1994, the world community set a sign by ratifying the only legally binding treaty promoting good land stewardship. Restoring degraded land and soil provides the most fertile ground to take immediate and concerted action for our planet's health. Now, it is time to reaffirm this global commitment by unleashing land’s potential – for present and future generations.”

The Federal Republic of Germany, through the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), will host the global observance on 17 June 2024. The event will engage prominent international and German personalities and the public at large to raise awareness about desertification, land degradation and drought.

Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development, said: “No matter whether we are talking about climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, or food crises – soil quality plays a central role for meeting these global challenges. Soils retain water and allow trees and plants to grow. We will only be able to feed humankind and deal with the climate crisis and its impacts if we have healthy soils. In 2024, when the UN Convention to Combat Desertification celebrates its 30th anniversary, the German government will be hosting the Desertification and Drought Day, thus sending a signal for strong international efforts against the loss of fertile soils.”

The City of Bonn, which has hosted the UNCCD Secretariat since 1999, will organise a series of events around 2024 Desertification and Drought Day. The City will play its part in highlighting the role of local governments in land restoration efforts, by displaying examples of sustainable land use practices linked to urban policies.

“We are also affected by land degradation here in Bonn – that's why it is so important to take joint countermeasures: by unsealing surfaces, by promoting organic farming, but also by integrating sustainable land management practices in urban policies. For example, in the concept of the water-sensitive city that we are currently developing, in nature conservation or in green space management. Bonn has been the home of UNCCD's Secretariat for 25 years. That's why we are particularly pleased to welcome the global observance of Desertification and Drought Day on June 17, 2024, in Bonn and to frame it with interesting activities for the broad public,” said Katja Dörner, Lord Mayor of Bonn, who was connected via video message in Dubai.

Officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994 (A/RES/49/115(External link))(External link), Desertification and Drought Day, marked annually on 17 June, is a unique occasion to highlight human-led solutions to prevent desertification and reverse intensifying droughts by investing in sustainable land use practices.

2024 will mark the 30th anniversary since the adoption of UNCCD, one of the three Rio Conventions. Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. With its 197 Parties, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention seeks to support countries to address desertification, land degradation, and drought. A remarkable journey from milestone initiatives such as Africa’s Great Green Wall, the largest living structure on the planet, to the establishment of Land Degradation Neutrality targets – a pledge by 130 countries to end land degradation by 2030.

Due to soil degradation, these jobs are likely to become scarce, further afflicting disadvantaged youths. Young people are 3.5 more time likely to be unemployed than adult

Ahead of DesertificationAndDrought Day,

UNCCD highlights why United4Land is key.

On June 17, 2024, the world will come together to observe World Desertification and Drought Day under the theme "United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future." This year's theme is a call to action, urging all sectors of society to engage in sustainable land stewardship to combat the pressing issues of desertification and drought.

This date holds special significance as it marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Established in 1994 and headquartered in Bonn, the UNCCD is the only legally binding international treaty dedicated to land management and drought mitigation. It stands alongside climate change and biodiversity as one of the three Rio Conventions. This annual observance serves as a reminder of the urgent need to protect and restore our land resources to ensure sustainable development and enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities. This year’s observance is not just a standalone event but part of a broader initiative leading up to the largest-ever UN conference on land and drought, UNCCD COP16, scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2024. The goal is to build momentum and foster a global movement towards sustainable land management. While the global observance of Desertification and Drought Day 2024 will be hosted by the Government of Germany at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, almost all the member countries to the UNCCD observer this day by conducting national and sub-national activities with the participation of policymakers, planners, practitioners, youth, academia, civil society, etc to showcase a strong ambition to be united for land.

ADPC provides expertise to build regional and national platforms for data sharing, risk communication, and research, covering climatic and hydro-meteorological domains such as drought. Continually innovating products and services, ADPC supports national and regional endeavours in drought risk management.

The Mekong Drought and Crop Watch (MDCW) system enhances operational, technological, and institutional capacities for drought preparedness and response, aiding local governments and the agricultural sector with seasonal drought monitoring, forecasting, and implementing mitigation measures. MDCW also offers reliable, timely estimates of drought severity and impacts.

Risk and Impact Assessment:

ADPC conducts thorough drought risk assessments to identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential droughts and their impacts, which can negatively affect agricultural production and lead to food insecurity. This process involves identifying potential droughts, assessing their likelihood and consequences, and formulating strategies to mitigate or manage risks. By examining historical data, climate patterns, and gender-inclusive vulnerability assessments, ADPC helps governments, development partners, and communities comprehend specific regional drought risks.

Risk Mitigation, Preparedness, and Response:

ADPC engages with governments and policymakers to shape policies and strategies for drought management. Addressing desertification and drought requires regional cooperation and collaboration. The Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) is a non-binding regional mechanism that promotes peer advocacy and expertise exchange in disaster and climate risk management. Through research, analysis, and policy dialogues, ADPC advocates for the integration of drought risk reduction and climate change adaptation into national and regional policies, promoting policy coherence, multi-sectoral collaboration, and women's inclusion in decision-making. Recognizing the importance of community involvement, especially women, ADPC promotes community-based approaches that empower local stakeholders to actively participate in planning, implementing, and monitoring drought-related activities. Incorporating local knowledge, traditional practices, and community resilience ensures that interventions are context-specific and sustainable. Community engagement initiatives also aim to raise awareness, improve water management practices, and strengthen livelihoods to enhance community resilience to drought.

ADPC together with the United Nations Convention for Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is currently undertaking a project (2023-2024) to develop a Regional Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Strategy for South Asia. The main objective of this initiative is for the South Asian countries to enhance resilience to drought events that emphasizes on a paradigm shift from reactive to proactive approaches. The strategy will help achieve the long-term objective of countries to develop technical and institutional capacity to manage droughts, and other natural hazards in an effective, efficient and sustainable manner.

ADPC supported Mekong River Commission to develop Mekong Drought Management Strategy 2020-2025 which is a crucial document designed to address one of the most pressing challenges faced by the Lower Mekong Basin countries including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam. The objective of this strategy is to strengthen adaptive capacity of the Member Countries in combatting drought hazards and mitigating drought impacts through a sustainable use of water resources, assist the Member Countries in drought forecasting and early warning for drought preparedness, water resources planning, and impacts mitigation, and develop a regional guideline on drought adaptation to address both national and transboundary impacts.

Brazil is the latest country to join the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), the global coalition mobilizing political, technical, and financial capital to prepare the world for harsher droughts. This addition brings the total membership of IDRA to 38 countries and 28 intergovernmental and research organizations, showing an increasing willingness to tackle one of the world’s most deadly and costly natural hazards.

Launched at UN Climate Summit COP27 by the leaders of Spain and Senegal, IDRA drives action against droughts in the face of global warming, acknowledging that we are only as resilient to drought and climate change as our land is. The IDRA secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

At a joint event with the UNCCD in Petrolina, in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil H.E. Marina Silva said: “Brazil's accession to the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) demonstrates the government's determination to combat drought and desertification, promote food and water security, and combat inequalities. Our objective is to promote sustainable development, while ensuring the protection of biodiversity and the communities of the semi-arid region. The cooperation with UNCCD reinforces Brazil's commitment to combating desertification and climate change.”

The event, which launched a national campaign to combat desertification and drought, put an end to a visit to the semi-arid region of Caatinga, a unique ecoregion that covers around 70 percent of northeastern Brazil, and 11% of the total country area. Brazilian researchers recently identified the country’s first arid region and projected the expansion of semiarid lands across much of the territory. Nearly 38 million Brazilians from 1.561 municipalities are vulnerable to desertification and drought , as are 1,4 million square kilometers of land across 13 states, according to the Environment and Climate Change Ministry. In Caatinga, authorities are supporting community-led initiatives to restore watersheds, improve agricultural practices, and harvest water as a means of building their resilience to drought.

Around the world, addressing challenges at the water-land-and-climate nexus is essential to protecting agricultural and energy production, and to maintaining vital ecosystem services like the provision of clean water and fertile soils for present and future generations.

Speaking at the event in Petrolina, the UNCCD Executive Secretary, Ibrahim Thiaw, said: “I commend Brazil’s commitment to proactively investing in resilient lands and livelihoods. Science and experience show time and again that preparing societies and economies for droughts before they strike prevents human sufering and is much more cost-effective than emergency responses. Drought is a hazard, but in needn’t be a disaster.”

A decisive year for land and drought

UNCCD COP16 will be the largest-ever meeting of UNCCD’s 197 Parties, the first to be held in the Middle East region, and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom recently hosted the 2024 World Environment Day global celebrations with a focus on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.

On 17 June, the 2024 Desertification and Drought Day will mark the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), one of the three Rio Conventions alongside climate and biodiversity.