United Nations(UN)’s World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought(WDCDD) is an annual global observance on June 17. The annual observance aims to promote public awareness about international efforts to combat desertification and drought, and to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) , a state where human activity has a neutral or positive impact on land health.
- The global commemoration is led by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
- 17th June 2025 marks the 31st anniversary of the UNCCD, which was established on 17th June 1994.
Theme:
i.The 2025 theme is “Restore the land. Unlock the opportunities”.
ii.Th 2025 theme aims to emphasize that restoring degraded land can create jobs, improve food and water security, support climate action, and boost economic resilience, helping achieve LDN by 2030.
Background:
i.The WDCDD was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) through Resolution A/RES/49/115 in 1994, following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
- First observed in 1995, this day has brought together global stakeholders to curb land degradation, poverty, and food insecurity.
ii.Since 2019, it is also referred to as Desertification and Drought Day. Each year, a different country hosts the global event in collaboration with the UNCCD Secretariat.
iii.The day also marks the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
About Desertification:
i.Desertification is a process where fertile land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas becomes degraded and unproductive due to various factors, including climate change and unsustainable human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and poor land management.
ii.It leads to the loss of soil fertility, reduction in vegetation cover, and decline in agricultural productivity, posing serious threats to food and water security, biodiversity, and livelihoods, especially in vulnerable rural communities. Desertification is a key environmental challenge contributing to poverty, migration, and climate-related risks across the globe.
iii.Globally, around 40% of the Earth’s land is already degraded, affecting over 3 billion people. Combating desertification is crucial for achieving LDN and ensuring sustainable land management.
Global Initiatives:
i.The Great Green Wall, an African-led initiative, aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land across the Sahel region by 2030.
ii.The Bonn Challenge is a global campaign targeting the restoration of 350 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2030.
iii.The Land Degradation Neutrality(LDN) Fund operates as a public-private partnership that finances sustainable land management and restoration projects worldwide.
Keyfacts:
i.As per the UNCCD Global Mechanism, a daily investment of USD 1 billion is required from 2025 to 2030 to halt and reverse land degradation. However, current funding amounts to only USD 66 billion per year, with merely 6% contributed by the private sector.
ii.Every USD 1 invested in land restoration can generate returns of up to USD 30.
iii.A recent UN report reveals that 77.6% of the Earth’s land area has experienced increased dryness over the past thirty years, primarily due to human-induced climate change.
2025 Events:
Global observance:
1.The 2025 global observance event is hosted by Colombia in Bogotá, emphasizing nature-based solutions for sustainability and inclusive development.
i.The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) aims to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- So far, 1 billion hectares have been pledged through initiatives like the G20 Global Land Restoration Initiative and the Great Green Wall Initiative.
ii.Previous Hosts: Germany (2024), USA (2023), Spain (2022), Costa Rica (2021), Republic of Korea (2020), Türkiye (2019), Ecuador (2018), and Burkina Faso (2017).
2.The 17th session of the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP17) on combating desertification is scheduled to be held in Mongolia from 17 to 28 August 2026, coinciding with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026).
National Observance in India:
In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism(MoC&T) organised a National Workshop on “Strategies for Combating Desertification and Drought” at the Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
- The event was inaugurated by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, MoEFCC and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MoC&T.
- The workshop aligned with the 2025 theme and focused on land restoration for climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable rural development.
Private Sector Participation:
The New Delhi (India) based Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organised a webinar under its Business for Environment (B4E) Series titled ‘Forests and Finance: Unlocking the Power of Carbon Markets and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD+)’.
- The session explored:The role of forest conservation,The potential of carbon markets, and the REDD+ mechanism in mobilising climate finance and enhancing nature-based solutions.
About United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
The UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement focused on combating desertification, land degradation, and drought. It has 197 parties.
Executive Secretary – Ibrahim Thiaw
Headquarters – Bonn, Germany
Established – 1994
