Every year the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is celebrated on June 17. The UN-designed day is all about a green planet, sustainable development, and the health and welfare of people.
Executive Secretary of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw ahead of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2021 said, “Land restoration can contribute greatly to post-Covid 19 economic recoveries. 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.”
Thiaw added, “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.”
THEME of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2021:
This year the theme for the day is – "Restoration, Land, Recovery. We will build back better with healthy land".
SIGNIFICANCE of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought:
The day aims at finding an achievable solution for combating desertification around the world. The day aims to educate one and all aware about desertification, land degradation and drought issues and how to tackle it.
HISTORY of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought:
The day was declared in the UNGA resolution on January 30, 1995, after the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The day was acknowledged to bring attention to the association between consumption and availability of land.
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Here are some of the efforts by India to combat desertification and drought:
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a high-level United Nations dialogue, said that India is working towards restoring 2.6 crore hectares of degraded land by 2030. He further said that land degradation affects over two-thirds of the world today and if left unchecked it would erode the foundations of our societies, economies, food security, health and quality of life.
PM Modi said, “Therefore, we have to reduce the tremendous pressure on land and its resources. A lot of work lies ahead of us. But we can do it, we will do it together.”