World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought today
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a United Nations observance celebrated each year on 17 June. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the presence of desertification and drought, highlighting methods of preventing desertification and recovering from drought.
Each year’s global celebration has a unique, novel emphasis that had not been developed previously.
The global observance of the event this year will take place in Madrid, Spain, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced.
“Spain is honoured to be hosting this year’s Desertification and Drought Day that puts the global spotlight on the urgent issue of drought. Drought is not just the absence of rain; it is often fueled by land degradation and climate change. Together, we can overcome its devastating effects on people and nature around the world and start preparing now to drought-proof our future,” said Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.
History
The United Nations General Assembly declared 17 June to be “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought” by its resolution A/RES/49/115(link is external) adopted in December 1994.
Dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use.
What is 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.
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed every year 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 co-operation at all levels.
The matter requires even more attention now. When the land degrades and stops being productive, natural spaces deteriorate and transform. Thus, greenhouse gas emissions increase and biodiversity decreases. It also means there are fewer wild spaces to buffer zoonoses, such as COVID-19, and protect us from extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and sand and dust storms.
Theme
Announcing the theme of 2022 Desertification and Drought Day “Rising up from drought together”, Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said:
“Droughts have been part of human and natural systems, but what we are experiencing now is much worse, largely due to human activity. Recent droughts point at a precarious future for the world. Food and water shortages as well as wildfires caused by the severe drought have all intensified in recent years.”
Significance
Droughts are among the greatest threats to sustainable development, especially in developing countries, but increasingly so in developed nations too. In fact, forecasts estimate that by 2050 droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population.
The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 percent since 2000, as compared to the two previous decades (WMO 2021). When more than 2.3 billion people already face water stress, this is a huge problem.
More and more of us will be living in areas with extreme water shortages, including an estimated one in four children by 2040 (UNICEF). No country is immune to drought.
The latest scientific assessments projecting more frequent and more severe droughts in the future and evidence of their increasing impacts has prompted governments to focus on more robust and predictable international commitment and action. Since 2017, the UNCCD and its partners supported about 70 drought-prone countries to develop national action plans to reduce drought disasters.
Among the top priorities of the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNCCD (COP15) taking place from 9-20 May 2022 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Parties will discuss on the way forward for drought preparedness and resilience globally.
Goals
The annual Desertification and Drought Day has three objectives:
First, to promote public awareness about desertification and drought.
Second, to let people know that desertification and drought can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to this aim lay in strengthened community participation and cooperation at all levels.
Lastly, to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.
Bangladesh
Planting trees is the most effective way to prevent drought and desertification. Planting trees protects us from the harmful effects of greenhouses, provides us with essential food, provides oxygen, keeps the environment clean by absorbing excess carbon dioxide from the air, purifies harmful polluted air, protects the environment, provides cool shade and prevents soil erosion. It also adds substances to protect soil fertility, retains adequate amounts of water in the soil, provides fuel, supplies raw materials of valuable life-saving medicines, acts as safe habitat for animals, birds and other wildlife, prevents natural disasters, storms, floods, prevents salinity, acts like insurance in human emergencies, absorbs harmful toxins from the soil and keeps the soil clean and pure, keeps the air clean, reduces atmospheric heat and keeps the weather cool.
Among the problems we are constantly facing due to a lack of adequate forest and trees are global warming, desertification, an increase in carbon-dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, methane and nitrous oxide in the air. With acid rain and rising temperatures, sea levels are rising as polar ice caps melt.
Bangladesh is on the list of the countries most affected by climate change. Therefore, we must individually and collectively be aware.
We all want to be close to the green. If we wish, we can decorate the inside and outside of the house made of brick-concrete as per our mind. Many people place tree tubs on the veranda of the house, next to the stairs and in the living room. The monsoon is very suitable for planting trees. If we want to garden in the tub, roof, garden or open space of the house, we have to take the initiative now. As soon as we reach out, we can find all the wonderful nurseries in the vicinity, from where we can collect trees of our choice. These nurseries sell everything including flowers, fruits, beautifying shrubs, medicinal trees, bonsai, tubs, pesticides, organic fertilisers, soil and materials related to tree care.
Global warming has increased by 0.740 degrees Celsius in the last one hundred years. If global warming continues in this way, global temperatures are expected to rise by 0.50 to 1.70 degrees Celsius by 2050. If it so happens, the rights to food security, potable water and natural resources, housing and other infrastructural facilities will be at stake.
Scientists warn that due to rising sea levels much of Bangladesh’s coastal region will be submerged in the next 50 years. Land in the south-west and north-west of the country is getting degraded due to drought. The northern region in particular is identified as a problem prone area. What comes as worrying is that there is a lack of awareness about the issue among the people and the policymakers. That is why World Drought and Desertification Prevention Day is not observed with special importance in Bangladesh.