Category: World Day Desertification (WDCD)

A message from Jenny Choo, Coordinator of the Land for Life Programme

 

World Day to Combat Desertification: “Our Land. Our Home. Our Future.

The World Day to Combat Desertification is the day to remind everyone of the importance of healthy and productive land for secure, stable and sustainable future. This year under the slogan “Our Land. Our Home. Our Future.”, we celebrate the power the land holds in giving people an opportunity and a future to stay resilient on their home ground.

We are pleased to inform you about the 2017 World Day to Combat Desertification Online Campaign. The campaign calls upon the UNCCD partners, CSOs, governmental stakeholders and the public to support restoring degraded lands and promoting productive and healthy land. Your support plays a central role in turning the growing sense of hopelessness over desertification into a hope for stable, secure and sustainable future. 

The land is our home, our future! 


What can you do? 

You can take part in one or more of the following:

Here are some suggested messages that could be posted for your Twitter, Facebook or Weibo:

Degraded land steals the future of those who live on it. Everyone deserves a future. Let’s make it happen! #2017WDCD @UNCCD
When land is productive, everything else follows: jobs, opportunities & life. Restore degraded land. Help us make it happen! #2017WDCD @UNCCD
土地退化偷取人类的生机及未来。 每个人都应拥有生计的权力。让我们共同创造绿色未来，让更多人享有生计的机会! #2017WDCD @UNCCD

Here are some materials you can use for the 2017WDCD celebration:
Post cards
Posters
Stickers: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian 
Social media visual aides: Fight or Flight , Productive Land, Our Land. Our Home. Our Future

You are also welcomed to translate the message to your own languages.

The important link between land degradation and migration.

 

2017_WDCD

Events: 17/06/2017

 

In just 15 years, the number of international migrants worldwide has risen from 173 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2015.[1]

Environmental degradation, political instability, food insecurity and poverty are causes of migration and development challenges.

The 2017 World Day to Combat Desertification (#2017WDCD) will examine the important link between land degradation and migration.

#2017WDCD will look at specific ways local communities can build resilience against current multi-fold development challenges through sustainable land management practices.  This day should remind everyone of land’s important role in producing food and generating local employment, as well as its ability to add to the sustainability, stability and security of desertification-affected places.

The global observance of #2017WDCD will be on 15 June in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The day will be hosted by le Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Economie Verte et du Changement Climatique (MEEVCC).

Get involved and celebrate 2017 WDCD with us

Go to the online campaign page!

Further Resources

The UNCCD Secretariat will upload information materials to aid your celebration as they become available.

For further information, contact: WDCD2017@unccd.int

 

Free #2017WDCD videos

  • 27-minute film on the Day’s theme is available for use by television stations in English and French.
  • 3-minute film trailer for social media
  • 10-minute version for screening at your event is also available.

Inquiries should be sent to wwischnewski@unccd.int.

 

The UNCCD Secretariat wants to promote your event!

Want the UNCCD Secretariat to promote your #2017WDCD celebration?

Send your event plans to WDCD2017@unccd.int .

 

To request further information, such as WDCD messages from United Nations officials or press releases in additional languages, as well as past campaign, press or awareness raising materials, please contact secretariat@unccd.int .

“Our land. Our home. Our Future”: the World Day to Combat Desertification on 17 June 2017

 

Photo credit: Africa Science News

UN launches campaign to invest in degraded lands to create jobs, boost incomes and food security

“Our land. Our home. Our Future,” is the rallying call for this year’s celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification on 17 June 2017. The slogan draws global attention to the central role productive land can play in turning the growing tide of migrants abandoning unproductive land into communities and nations that are stable, secure and sustainable, into the future.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has also released the campaign logo for use by any group, organization, government or entity that will organize a celebratory event for the Day.

“Migration is high on the political agenda all over the world as some rural communities feel left behind and others flee their lands. The problem signals a growing sense of hopelessness due to the lack of choice or loss of livelihoods. And yet productive land is a timeless tool for creating wealth. This year, let us engage in a campaign to re-invest in rural lands and unleash their massive job-creating potential, from Burkina Faso, Chile and China, to Italy, Mexico, Ukraine and St. Lucia,” says Ms. Monique Barbut, the United Nations top advisor on combatting desertification and drought.

“The possibility for success today is greater than ever before. More than 100 of the 169 countries affected by desertification or drought are setting national targets to curb a run-away land degradation by the year 2030. Investing in the land will create local jobs and give households and communities a fighting chance to live, which will, in turn, strengthen national security and our future prospects for sustainability,” Ms. Barbut added.

Read the full article: Africa Science News

World Day to Combat Desertification

Photo credit: Google – Imgres.jpg

 

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

World Day to Combat Desertification to be held on 17 June 

“Let us find long‐term solutions, not just quick fixes, to disasters that are
destroying communities,” urged Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.(See PRESS RELEASE below).

COMMENTS

Willem Van Cotthem: We keep hoping that success stories and best practices will be applied at the global level. Priority should be given to methods and techniques providing daily fresh food to the hungry and malnourished. It cannot be denied that hunger and malnutrition are constantly undermining the performances of people. Application of existing success stories in local food production (kitchen gardens, school gardens, hospital gardens, …) would positively influence the efforts to combat desertification (limiting erosion, stimulating reforestation, etc.). We keep hoping.

Reply: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification “Hi Willem Van Cotthem, would you like to share some success stories you have? We always welcome all to share!”

       Reply: Willem Van Cotthem : Hello Friends at the UNCCD Secretariat: It will be my pleasure to select a series of success stories in the literature. However, I am convinced that the UNCCD secretariat has the necessary documentation to compile even a book on this subject (to the best of my knowledge the documents, e.g. presentations at COPs and meetings of CST and CRIC, have been there during my active period in the CST and in Bonn). Please consider a consultancy to achieve top class work that would serve all member countries, the CST and the CRIC. To be presented at the next World Day June 17th 2016.

PRESS RELEASE
UNCCD’s Monique Barbut Calls for Long‐Term Solutions Not Just Quick Fixes To Drought Bonn, Germany, 22/02/2016 –
“Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People. This is the slogan for this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification to be held on 17 June. I am calling for solidarity from the international community with the people who are battling the ravages of drought and flood. Let us find long‐term solutions, not just quick fixes, to disasters that are destroying communities,” urged Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The droughts and floods beating down on communities in many parts of the world are linked to the current El Niño, which is expected to affect up 60 million people by July. In some areas, including in North Eastern Brazil, Somali, Ethiopia, Kenya and Namibia, the El Niño effects are coming on the back of years of severe and recurrent droughts. It is impossible for households that rely on the land for food and farm labor to recover, especially when the land is degraded.
What’s more, these conditions do not just devastate families and destabilize communities. When they are not attended to urgently, they can become a push factor for migration, and end with gross human rights abuses and long‐term security threats.
“We have seen this before – in Darfur following four decades of droughts and desertification and, more recently, in Syria, following the long drought of 2007‐2010. It is tragic to see a society breaking down when we can reduce the vulnerability of communities through simple and affordable acts such as restoring the degraded lands they live on, and helping countries to set up better systems for drought early warning and to prepare for and manage drought and floods,” Barbut said.
Ms Barbut made the remarks when announcing the plans for this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification, which will take place on 17 June.
“I hope that World Day to Combat Desertification this year marks a turning point for every country. We need to show, through practical action and cooperation, how every country is tacking or supporting these challenges at the front‐end to preempt or minimize the potential impacts of the disasters, not just at the back‐end after the disasters happen,” she stated.
The United Nations General Assembly designated 17 June as the observance Day to raise public awareness about international efforts to combat desertification and the effects of drought.
Ms Barbut thanked the Government and People of China, for offering to host the global observance event, which will take place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
“China has vast experience in nursing degraded lands and man‐made deserts back to health. This knowledge can and should benefit initiatives such as Africa’s Great Green Wall, the re‐ greening in southern Africa and the 20 X 20 Initiative in Latin America. We can create a better, more equal and climate change‐resilient world,” she noted.
“I also call on countries, the private sector, foundations and people of goodwill to support Africa  when the countries meet later in the year to develop concrete plans and policies to pre‐ empt, monitor and manage droughts,” Ms Barbut stated.
The 2016 World Day campaign is also advancing the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September last year. The Goals include a target to achieve a land degradation‐neutral world by 2030. That is, a world where the land restored back to health equals to, or is more than, the amount degraded every year.
For more information on the Day and previous events, visit: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event‐and‐campaigns/WDCD/Pages/default.aspx
For background information and materials for the 2016 Observance, visit: For information about the Global Observance event, visit: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event‐and‐ campaigns/WDCD/wdcd2016/Pages/default.aspx
Contact for World Day to Combat Desertification: Yhori@unccd.int
For Media information: wwischnewski@unccd.int

Securing every hectare of land and rehabilitate all the degraded land

Photo credit: UN News Centre

Walking through desert in Nigeria. Photo: World Bank

On Day to Combat Desertification, UN urges action to protect ‘every hectare’ of arable land

Land is a renewable resource, but only if investments are made in land degradation neutrality, which has been proposed as an element of the post-2015 development agenda, today said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message on the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

“We need to change course and start securing every hectare of land that can provide food or freshwater and rehabilitate all the degraded land that we can,” urged Mr. Ban, who assured that by doing so, the international community will be able to make rapid steps towards controlling climate change.

With No such thing as a free lunch: Investing in healthy soils as the theme, this year’s Day is intended to promote public awareness of the issues of desertification and drought, and the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.

“Our lives and civilizations depend on the land. Let us invest in healthy soils to secure our rights to food and freshwater,” Mr. Ban added.

When a plate of food is served in front of you, what comes to mind? Few of us actually think about it, but it is the endpoint of a long and complex process…Without the land, there is only an empty plate,” underscored Monique Barbut, who is the UNCCD Executive Secretary.

Noting that 70 per cent of the Earth’s grasslands, 50 per cent of the savannahs and 45 per cent of its temperate forests have been cleared to feed generations gone by, she expressed her deep concern that resources are treated like disposable goods.

“We degrade the land through unsustainable farming and walk away when it cannot produce anymore. Today, one third of previously fertile farmland lies abandoned. With a population of 9.6 billion expected by 2050, we will need to clear 3 million hectares of new land every year, on average,” she explained, warning that “we are heading towards a tipping point.”

“If we do not change how we use our land, we will have to convert an area the size of Norway into new farmland every year to meet future needs for food, freshwater, biofuels and urban growth,” underscored Mr. Ban.

Read the full article: UN News Centre

It’s happening on June 17th

Photo credit: Radio Pakistan

World Day to Combat Desertification on 17 June

2015 Theme: Attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.

The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is being observed on 17 June. The focus this year is “attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.”

Some 805 million people in the world lacked sufficient nutritious food between 2012 and 2014 according to the 2014 State of Food Insecurity report. That is about one in every eight people.

The vast majority lived in developing countries. Although significant progress has been made towards the MDG hunger target, progress across regions and countries is still uneven.

With the slogan, ‘No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soil’, the 2015 observance calls for:A change in our land use practices through smart agriculture and adaptation to changing climate, especially in the dry fragile parts of the world where food shortages are becoming more and more severe.

Access to technology and land rights for small holder farmers who safeguard the environment and meet the food needs of millions of households, especially among the poorest households.   A balance in the land use for ecology and consumption, drawing on the best practices.  More investments in sustainable land practices so that sustainable food systems become the normal practice.   More effective action on desertification whose effects on security, peace and stability are invisible yet real for the affected countries due especially to food and water scarcity and environmentally forced migration.

Read the full article: Radio Pakistan

World Day to Combat Desertification 2015

World Day to Combat Desertification 2015

 The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is observed worldwide on 17 June every year.  The focus this year is “attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.”

With the slogan, ‘No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soil’, the 2015 observance calls for:
(1) A change in our land use practices through smart agriculture and adaptation to changing climate, especially in the dry fragile parts of the world where food shortages are becoming more and more severe
(2) Access to technology and land rights for small holder farmers who safeguard the environment and meet the food needs of millions of households, especially among the poorest households
(3) A balance in the land use for ecology and consumption, drawing on the best practices
(4) More investments in sustainable land practices so that sustainable food systems become the normal practice and
(5) More effective action on desertification whose effects on security, peace and stability are invisible yet real for the affected countries due especially to food and water scarcity and environmentally forced migration.
The Day will feature a global observance event in Milan, Italy, during the 2015 UN Expo as well as National and local observances.
See the full text: UNCCD

A message from the UNCCD on the World Day (June 17th)

ENGLISH – ESPANOL – FRANçAIS

Dear UNCCD Focal Points and stakeholders,

Once again we would like to take the opportunity to  highlight that the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is observed every year on 17 June.  We invite you to celebrate with us this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification  (WDCD).

This year, the focus is the attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems. Some 805 million people in the world lacked sufficient nutritious food between 2012 and 2014. We need to take this into account as we observe the International Year of Soils.

With the slogan, “No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soil”, we are sending a strong message to the general public and decision makers that eradicating hunger and poverty for all are closely tied to the realizing Land Degradation Neutrality. To this end, the concept note, logo and other materials are already available on our web-page for use: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/WDCD/wdcd%202015/Pages/default.aspx This page will be updated constantly.

There will be a page publicizing the national observances. Send your plan or weblink for your event to secretariat@unccd.int for posting on that page.

The global observance will be  hosted by the Government of Italy and  will take place at the Milan Expo. We invite all the countries participating in the Expo to join us or to organize complementary celebratory activities on-site on 17 June.

Let me also take this opportunity to invite you to participate in the UNCCD National Dryland Champions programme. The National Dryland Champions programme is designed to honour activities by individuals and/or organizations and business respectively  that make a practical contribution to sustainable land management (SLM) practices in your own country. A number of National Focal Point Ministries run this programme, awarding their SLM contributors on the World Day to Combat Desertification national observance event. Information on the programme can be found at http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/Dryland%20Champions/Pages/default.aspx

For further inquiries, please contact Ms Yukie Hori (yhori@unccd.int, +49 228 815 2829),Communication team leader/Spokesperson – External Relations, Policy and Advocacy Unit.

We look forward to celebrating the WDCD with you and reaching more people than ever before.

Monique Barbut

Executive Secretary

Una vez más quisiéramos aprovechar esta oportunidad para remarcar que el Día mundial de lucha contra la desertificación se observa cada año el 17 de junio. Quisiéramos invitaros a celebrar este día con nosotros.

Este año, el enfoque se encuentra en conseguir la seguridad alimentaria para todos a través de los sistemas de alimentación sostenible. Unos 850 millones de personas en el mundo carecieron de suficiente alimentos nutritivos entre 2012 y 2014. Necesitamos tomar esto en consideración cuando estamos observando el año internacional de los suelos.

Con el eslogan “El que algo quiere, algo le cuesta. Invirtamos en suelos sanos”, queremos enviar un fuerte mensaje al público en general y a aquellos que toman decisiones, que erradicar el hambre y la pobreza de todos está íntimamente ligado con la consecución de la neutralidad en la degradación de la tierra. En este sentido hemos preparado y puesto a su disposición una nota conceptual, logos y otros materiales en nuestra página web: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/WDCD/wdcd%202015/Pages/default.aspx Esta página está siendo actualizada constantemente.

Del mismo modo, habrá una página web que publicite las actividades organizadas en este contexto a nivel nacional. Le rogamos nos envíe su programa o link del evento que planeen organizar a secretariat@unccd.int para que lo colguemos en la página.

La observación global del día será organizada por el Gobierno de Italia y tendrá lugar en la Expo de Milán. Invitamos a todos aquellos que participen en la Expo que se nos unan para organizar actividades complementarias para celebrar el 17 de junio.

Quisiera aprovechar esta oportunidad para invitarles a participar en el programa UNCCD National Dryland Champions. Dicho programa ha sido diseñado para pagar tributo a las personas y organizaciones e instituciones respectivamente que hayan contribuido de manera práctica a la gestión sostenible de la tierra en sus países. Varios Ministerios puntos focales nacionales llevan a la práctica este programa concediendo premios durante el día mundial de lucha contra la desertificación. Informacion sobre el programa esta disponible en http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/Dryland%20Champions/Pages/default.aspx

Si necesitan información adicional, no duden en contactar con la Sra. Yukie Hori (yhori@unccd.int, +49 228 815 2829), Líder del equipo de comunicación / portavoz.

Esperamos celebrar el día mundial de lucha contra la desertificación con ustedes para así poder llegar a más gente que otros años

Monique Barbut

Secretariat Ejecutiva

Nous aimerions, encore une fois, profiter de l’occasion pour souligner que la journée internationale de lutte contre la désertification est célébrée le 17 juin de chaque année. Nous vous invitons ainsi à célébrer cette journée avec nous encore une fois le 17 juin prochain.

Cette année, l’accent est mis sur la réalisation de la sécurité alimentaire pour tous, grâce à des systèmes alimentaires durables. Il importe de signaler que quelques 805 millions de personnes manquaient de nourriture suffisante entre 2012 et 2014. Nous devons tenir compte de ça pendant que nous célébrons l’année internationale des sols.

Avec le slogan “NOn n’a rien sans rien, investissons dans des sols vivants”, nous envoyons un message fort au public en général ainsi qu’aux décideurs en disant que l’éradication de la faim et de la pauvreté sont étroitement liées à la neutralité de la dégradation des terres.

A cette fin, la description, logo et d’autres matériaux sont déjà disponibles sur notre page web sous le lien suivant : http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/WDCD/wdcd%202015/Pages/default.aspx .Cette page sera constamment mise à jour.

Il y aura également une page publiant les observances nationales. Envoyez votre plan ou lien internet  à « secretariat@unccd.int » pour que votre événement soit également publié sur cette page.

La célébration de cette journée sera organisée par le gouvernement Italien et aura lieu à l’Expo de Milan. Nous invitons tous les pays participant à l’expo de se joindre à nous ou d’organiser, sur le même site, des activités de célébration complémentaires.

Je saisis également cette occasion pour vous inviter à participer à « UNCCD National Dryland Champions programme ». Ce programme  est  conçu pour honorer les activités des particuliers ou Organisations/Entreprises qui contribuent largement à la gestion durable des terres dans vos pays respectifs. Un certain nombre de points focaux nationaux exécutent déjà ce programme. Vous pouvez trouver toutes les informations nécessaires concernant ce programme sous le lien suivant : http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/Dryland%20Champions/Pages/default.aspx

Pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez s’il vous plaît contacter Ms. Yukie Hori (yhori@unccd.int, +49 228 815 2829) ; Communication team leader/Spokesperson – External Relations, Policy and Advocacy Unit.

Nous nous réjouissons de célébrer avec vous la journée internationale de lutte contre la désertification et espérons d’atteindre le plus de personnes que jamais auparavant.

Bien à vous,

Monique Barbut.

Secretaire Executive

The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) 2015

 

The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is observed worldwide on 17 June every year.  The focus this year is “attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.”

With the slogan, ‘No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soil’, the 2015 observance calls for:
(1) A change in our land use practices through smart agriculture and adaptation to changing climate, especially in the dry fragile parts of the world where food shortages are becoming more and more severe
(2) Access to technology and land rights for small holder farmers who safeguard the environment and meet the food needs of millions of households, especially among the poorest households
(3) A balance in the land use for ecology and consumption, drawing on the best practices
(4) More investments in sustainable land practices so that sustainable food systems become the normal practice and
(5) More effective action on desertification whose effects on security, peace and stability are invisible yet real for the affected countries due especially to food and water scarcity and environmentally forced migration.

 

The WDCD in 2015

Photo credit: Expo 2015

On June 17, We Celebrate the World Day to Combat Desertification

EXCERPT

This year’s theme.
The theme proposed this year by the Secretariat of the UNCCD (United Nations Combat Desertification) is “Combating Land Degradation for Sustainable Agriculture,” while the slogan that was created specifically to raise awareness is: “Land belongs to the future, let’s climate proof it.” The objectives of the WDCD 2014 edition are many: it is necessary that attention to the land and climate change becomes a priority and that Member States are involved in sustainable land management. The priority will be, ultimately, that people will understand how to defend the planet from climate changeand that will also be essential for food security.

 

Expo Milano 2015 and the WDCD
Expo Milano 2015 also cares about the issues related to desertification. We must not forget that the theme of the next Universal Exposition will be Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life and that among the Clusters of Expo Milano 2015 there is one dedicated to Agriculture and Nutrition in the Arid Zones, typical of  the countries most at risk of desertification such as  Senegal ,  Mauritania ,  Eritrea and Palestine.
Read the full article: Expo 2015

WDCD: urgent need to curb the desertification process

Photo credit: Time and Date

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

The United Nations’ World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is annually observed on June 17 to highlight the urgent need to curb the desertification process. It also aims to strengthen the visibility of the drylands issue on the international environmental agenda.

What do people do?

Individuals and organizations in various countries, such as Australia, Algeria, Canada, China, Ghana, and the United States, have participated in the day in recent years. Many events focus on educational activities to help combat problems relating to desertification and drought.

Promotional activities may include the distribution of awareness raising materials, such as calendars, fact sheets, posters and postcards, to educational institutions and the general public. The day may also feature educational case studies, forums or discussions on drought and desertification, its implications on society and ways to minimize the problem.

However, the effort to fight against desertification and drought does not occur only on this day. Many countries have been making a progressive effort in proactively addressing the issue and looking for solutions. For example, the Algerian Government resorted to a French research and engineering firm, in view of elaborating a national plan to protect the agricultural lands and to fight desertification. Pilot projects in Lebanon resulted in villagers producing za’atar and other traditional delicacies to tackle the agricultural decline caused by years of drought and desert expansion.

Public life

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Read the full article: Time and Date

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