2021 Desertification and Drought Day



The 2021 Desertification and Drought Day to be held on 17 June will focus on
turning degraded land into healthy land. Restoring degraded land brings
economic resilience, creates jobs, raises incomes and increases food security.
It helps biodiversity to recover. It locks away the atmospheric carbon warming
the Earth, slowing climate change. It can also lessen the impacts of climate
change and underpin a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Desertification and Drought Day to be held on 17
June will focus on turning degraded land into healthy land. Restoring degraded
land brings economic resilience, creates jobs, raises incomes and increases
food security. It helps biodiversity to recover. It locks away the atmospheric
carbon warming the Earth, slowing climate change. It can also lessen the
impacts of climate change and underpin a green recovery from the COVID-19
pandemic.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) will work with the Ministry of Environment (MINAE) of Costa Rica, the
host of the global observance, to encourage households, communities, private
sector and countries to have a better relationship with nature as we recover
from COVID-19.

Nearly three quarters of the Earth’s ice-free land has been
altered by humans to meet an ever-growing demand for food, raw materials,
highways and homes. Fixing damaged ecosystems mitigates against climate change
and bolsters nature’s defences against disasters and extreme weather events
such as wildfires, droughts, floods, and sand and dust storms. Restoring
natural landscapes reduces close contact between wildlife and human
settlements, creating a natural buffer against zoonotic diseases.

Avoiding, slowing and reversing the loss of productive land
and natural ecosystems now is both urgent and important for a swift recovery
from the pandemic and for guaranteeing the long-term survival of people and the
planet.

Land restoration can contribute greatly to post-COVID19
economic recovery. Investing in land restoration creates jobs and generates
economic benefits, and could provide livelihoods at a time when hundreds of
millions of jobs are being lost.

— Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary

“Smart land-based restoration initiatives would be particularly
helpful for women and youth, who are often the last to receive help in times of
crises. As we enter the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, we have a real
chance to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. If countries can
restore the nearly 800 million hectares of degraded land they have pledged to
restore by 2030, we can safeguard humanity and our planet from the looming
danger,” adds Mr. Thiaw.

The COVID19 pandemic has reinforced just how much we need
our forests, drylands, wetlands and other land ecosystems: for food, for the
green economy, for eco-tourism, as a buffer against extreme climate events. In
Costa Rica, our unique tropical forests are a limited and precious natural
resource that we cannot neglect. On Desertification and Drought Day, I urge us
all to push hard to restore our lands. We all have a role to play, because we
all have a stake in our planet’s future.

— Andrea Meza, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa
Rica

To find out how to organize a Desertification and Drought
Day event or learn what you can do to help prevent land degradation and
desertification, visit this page for frequent updates and download the
campaign materials from the menu on your right. Please submit your event with
photos to DDD2021@unccd.int and
we will feature it on our website!

You can also follow and support the campaign on social media
using these
hashtags: #DesertificationAndDroughtDay #RestorationLandRecovery

About Desertification and Drought Day

Desertification and Drought Day – known as the World Day to
Combat Desertification and Drought before 2020 – is observed every year to
promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.
The day is a unique moment to remind everyone that reversing land degradation
is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and
co-operation at all levels.

In 2021, the goal of Desertification and Drought Day is to
demonstrate that investing in healthy land as part of a green recovery is a
smart economic decision – not just in terms of creating jobs and rebuilding
livelihoods, but in terms of insulating economies against future crises caused
by climate change and nature loss, and in accelerating progress on all 17
Sustainable Development Goals as we recover from COVID-19.

Source: UNCCD 

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