World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme: Taking place on 17th June every year. Raising awareness of desertification as a global issue.

In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared 17 June World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) plays a key role in the world’s efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

With the onset of climate change, drought and desertification are issues of increasing importance. As with other aspects of the climate crisis, these issues are primarily social ones caused by mismanagement of land, water reserves and the continued release of greenhouse gases. This is a great day to focus on how we can work together to protect valuable ecosystems and equitably use freshwater resources.

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme:  Drought and desertification can be uncomfortable issues to cover with your students. That’s why it’s important to have a positive, solutions focused approach when discussing them. You can show that we are not at the mercy of desertification and drought and that by working together we can do a lot better. You could share the incredible efforts of tree planting in China’s Gobi desert and across the Sahara to prevent further desertification. In the Sahara, the Great Green Wall project spans the entire width of Africa from Senegal to Djibouti. Once complete, this band of trees, agriculture and green energy facilities will prevent the encroachment of the Sahara whilst building food and water security as well as thousands of green jobs. It will be the largest living structure in the world, 3 times larger than the Great Barrier Reef.

This day is another opportunity to reinforce the interconnectivity of global issues. As the Great Green Wall shows, by solving desertification and drought we are tackling the cause of many different problems at the same time. Poverty, hunger and energy scarcity are all things connected to these issues. Crucially, this is also an issue of gender inequality, given that women are often tasked with sourcing clean water for their families. Help students to think through how all of these things might be connected. You don’t need technical answers, but this helps to improve student’s ability to look for connections themselves. Ask them, how do these problems make each other worse? How does tackling one of them make a difference to the others? With this thinking we can begin to show that just as the world’s problems are interlinked, so too are the solutions. This is a useful source of hope for all of us.

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme

What is the theme of World Day to combat desertification?

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme:  The World Day to Combat Desertification, observed on June 17th each year, aims to raise awareness about the importance of combating desertification and drought, as well as the implementation of effective strategies to mitigate their effects. While the specific theme for each year may vary, the overall theme of the day revolves around the global effort to combat desertification and its impact on the environment, ecosystems, and human livelihoods.

The theme for the World Day to Combat Desertification in 2023, as of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, is not available. However, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which organizes the World Day, typically announces the theme closer to the date. I recommend checking the official UNCCD website or relevant sources for the most up-to-date information on the theme for a specific year.

What date is desertification?

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought Theme:  The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an international treaty established in 1994. The aim of the UNCCD is to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought and promote sustainable land management practices worldwide. Its primary objectives are:

1. To combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought: The UNCCD aims to prevent and reduce land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. It promotes sustainable land management practices, restoration of degraded land, and measures to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of drought.
2. To achieve sustainable development: The UNCCD recognizes that combating desertification and land degradation is essential for achieving sustainable development. It emphasizes the importance of integrated approaches that address social, economic, and environmental aspects of land management, aiming to improve the well-being of affected communities.
3. To promote the participation of affected communities: The UNCCD encourages the active involvement and participation of local communities, including indigenous people, in decision-making processes related to land management. It recognizes the crucial role of local knowledge and practices in combating desertification and promoting sustainable land use.
4. To mobilize resources and support for affected countries: The UNCCD aims to mobilize financial resources, technology transfer, and capacity-building support to assist affected countries in implementing sustainable land management practices. It promotes international cooperation, knowledge exchange, and partnerships to address the challenges of desertification and land degradation.

The UNCCD operates through the implementation of national action plans, regional programs, and international cooperation. It organizes conferences, events, and initiatives to raise awareness, share best practices, and monitor progress in combating desertification and promoting sustainable land management.

What is the meaning of combat desertification?

The term “combat desertification” refers to the collective efforts and actions taken to prevent, mitigate, and reverse the process of desertification. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, resulting in the expansion of desert-like conditions. Combatting desertification involves implementing strategies and measures to address the causes and impacts of land degradation in these regions.

The primary objectives of combatting desertification are:

1. Prevention: Taking proactive measures to prevent land degradation and desertification before they occur. This includes implementing sustainable land management practices, such as afforestation, reforestation, soil conservation, water management, and appropriate land-use planning.
2. Mitigation: Implementing measures to minimize the effects of desertification and land degradation. This involves restoring degraded land, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and adopting climate-resilient approaches to reduce vulnerability to drought and other environmental stresses.
3. Rehabilitation: Rehabilitating already degraded lands to restore their productivity and ecological balance. This may involve activities such as soil restoration, re-vegetation, and ecosystem rehabilitation to recover the functionality of the affected areas.
4. Sustainable land management: Promoting sustainable land management practices that enhance soil fertility, preserve biodiversity, conserve water resources, and ensure the long-term productivity and resilience of the land. This includes adopting sustainable agricultural techniques, agroforestry, watershed management, and other conservation approaches.

Combatting desertification requires a multidimensional approach that encompasses environmental, social, and economic aspects. It involves the active involvement of local communities, governments, international organizations, and various stakeholders to implement sustainable land management practices, raise awareness, and allocate resources to address the challenges of desertification and land degradation.

What are the 5 effects of desertification?

Desertification has several significant effects on both the environment and human populations. Here are five key effects of desertification:

1. Loss of productive land: Desertification results in the loss of productive land, as the affected areas become increasingly arid and unable to support agriculture or other forms of sustainable land use. This leads to reduced food production, decreased availability of grazing land for livestock, and a loss of livelihoods for communities dependent on the land.
2. Biodiversity decline: Desertification contributes to the loss of biodiversity in affected regions. As ecosystems degrade and vegetation cover diminishes, plant and animal species that rely on these habitats may disappear or become endangered. The loss of biodiversity disrupts ecological balance and reduces the resilience of ecosystems to withstand further degradation.
3. Water scarcity: Desertification often exacerbates water scarcity in affected areas. As land becomes degraded, it loses its ability to retain water and promote infiltration into underground aquifers. This leads to reduced water availability for both human consumption and agricultural purposes, exacerbating drought conditions and water stress.
4. Increased vulnerability to climate change: Desertification and climate change are interconnected, with each amplifying the effects of the other. Desertification contributes to climate change through the release of carbon stored in vegetation and soil. Additionally, degraded land is more susceptible to the impacts of climate change, such as increased temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events, making affected populations more vulnerable.
5. Socio-economic impacts: Desertification has significant socio-economic impacts on affected communities. It can lead to increased poverty, food insecurity, and migration as people are forced to leave their homes in search of better living conditions. Desertification also contributes to conflicts over scarce resources, exacerbating social tensions and instability in affected regions.

These effects highlight the importance of combating desertification and implementing sustainable land management practices to protect the environment, preserve livelihoods, and promote the well-being of communities affected by desertification.