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.
At the same time, growing 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.
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.
Did you know?
• 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 USD invested in land restoration can yield up to 30 USD 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 (LDN) by 2030: a world where human activity has a neutral, or even positive, impact on the land.
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