In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought". Ever since, country Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), non-governmental organizations and other interested stakeholders celebrate this particular day with a series of outreach activities, worldwide. 

Desertification is a process of land degradation, partly due to human-induced factors. Activities such as over-cultivation, over-grazing, deforestation and poor irrigation practices are turning once-fertile soils into barren patches of land. It has enormous economic and social costs and can lead to poverty, forced migration and conflict. The causes of desertification are varied and complex. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, adopted 13 years ago today, aims to promote concrete action through innovative local, national, sub-regional and regional programmes and supportive international partnerships. However, degradation of the global environment continues at an alarming pace, with serious social and economic implications. Effective implementation of the Convention, which integrates environmental and developmental concerns, is becoming ever more urgent.

Desertification is not only one of the world’s greatest environmental challenges; it is also a major impediment to meeting basic human needs in drylands. It puts at risk the health and well-being of 1.2 billion people in more than 100 countries.

Many of the world’s poorest people are also those most directly affected by desertification. Two thirds of the poor live in drylands, about half in farm households where environmental degradation threatens the agricultural production on which their livelihoods depend. Global warming is expected to lead to a further rise in the number of extreme weather events, such as droughts and heavy rains, which will have a dramatic impact on already weakened soils. This trend will, in turn, worsen desertification and increase the prevalence of poverty, forced migration and vulnerability to conflicts in affected areas. Conversely, concerted efforts to combat desertification -- by reclaiming degraded land, combating soil loss and restoring vegetation -- can help curb greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the resilience of affected countries and build their capacity to adapt to climate change.

Country Parties and civil society organizations are invited to organize events to celebrate the World Day to Combat Desertification as an additional opportunity to increase awareness raising and participation in the process.