World Day to combat Desertification and Drought 2024; June 17th.

FORUM : “United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future.” International Day to combat Desertification and Drought 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. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #DesertificationAndDrought, #Drought, #ourlegacyourfuture, #United4land, #17june, #DesertificationDay.

EVENTS : On June 17th, from 10:00 – 19:00 EDT. A High-level event to mark the International Day to combat Desertification and Drought Day 2024 will be held at UNHQ in New York. The several events organized 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. The panel discussions are organized jointly by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Women, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The high-level event will be opened by the President of the 78th General Assembly with the participation by leaders representing governments, international organizations, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women and youth. It will include interactive dialogues and statements from the floor moderated by UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw.

In Bonn, Germany, The global observance event at the Bundeskunsthalle, which will mark the 30th anniversary of UNCCD, will bring together world leaders, youth and prominent personalities from academia, civil society, sports and entertainment to showcase a strong ambition to be united for land, ahead of the UNCCD COP16, the largest-ever United Nations conference on land and drought in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2024. The Government of Germany, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the City of Bonn 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. The global observance event on June 17th will be hosted by Germany and will be accessible to online audiences via a livestream.

From 2-13 December 2024 in Riyadh, will be held the UNCCD 16th session of the Conference of the Parties; COP16 will be a landmark event for accelerating action on land and drought resilience and a gamechanger for the green transition in Saudi Arabia, the region and beyond. Learn more about the COP16 Sessions and the side- events. Register to participate!

Worldwide celebrations: View the calendar of upcoming meetings and Explore the map of events!

STATEMENTS

Statement by the United Nations Secretary-General on World Day to combat Desertification and Drought 2024; June 17th.

Statement by the UNCDD Executive-Secretary on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2024; June 17th.

Statement by the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2024; June 17th.