The Desertification and Drought Day – until this year known as The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a United Nations observance day held on 17 June each year. Desertification and Drought Day was officially declared by the UN General Assembly as “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" (The resolution A/RES/49/115). It aims to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification. The day is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and cooperation at all levels. Desertification Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world's land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the productivity of the land. 2026 Theme: Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.” The global observance will highlight the central role of the world’s rangelands in climate resilience, food and water security, biodiversity conservation and the cultural identity of pastoralist and Indigenous communities. Rangelands cover more than half of the world’s land surface yet remain among the most undervalued ecosystems. They face increasing pressures from climate change, land degradation and competing land uses. Up to half of all rangelands are already degraded or at risk, jeopardizing food and water security, climate resilience and rural livelihoods. Quick facts Every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy land becomes degraded, adding up to 100 million hectares every year. Up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded , affecting more than 3 billion people worldwide and with dire consequences for our climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. One billion people under the age of 25 live in regions directly dependent on land and natural resources for jobs and livelihoods. If current trends continue, restoring 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030 will be necessary to achieve a land-degradation-neutral world. Each year, the combined effects of land degradation, desertification, and drought cost the global economy US $878 billion a Indigenous peoples and local communities, which account for approximately half a billion people in the world, are often disproportionately affected by land degradation. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found. The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations to build a future that avoids, minimizes, and reverses desertification/land degradation and mitigates the effects of drought in affected areas at all levels ... to achieve a land degradation-neutral world consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Source: United Nations