Today (17 June) is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, and this year's theme is "Restore the land. Unlock the opportunities".
Healthy land underpins thriving economies, with over half of the global gross domestic product (GDP) dependent on nature. Yet we are depleting this natural capital at an alarming rate: every second, the equivalent of four football fields is lost due to land degradation.
This drives biodiversity loss, increasing drought risk and displacing communities. The ripple effects are global, from rising food prices to instability and migration.
Desertification, land degradation, and drought are among the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, with up to 40% of all land area worldwide already considered degraded.
As the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 marks its halfway point, we must accelerate efforts to turn the tide of land degradation into large-scale restoration. If current trends continue, we will need to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land and jumpstart a trillion-dollar land restoration economy by 2030.
Restore the land. Unlock the opportunities
The 2025 theme shines a light on how restoring nature's foundation—land—can:
Now is the time to turn ambition into action.
According to the UNCCD Global Mechanism, the world needs to invest USD1 billion every day between 2025 and 2030 to stop and reverse land degradation. Current investments fall short at USD66 billion annually, with only 6% coming from the private sector.
The UNCCD says we need to scale up ambition and investment by both governments and businesses. This means:
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, commented on the day: "What’s good for land is good for people and economies".
"But humanity is degrading land at an alarming rate, costing the global economy nearly $880 billion every year — far more than the investments needed to tackle the problem".
"Droughts are forcing people from their homes, and inflaming food insecurity – the number of newly displaced people is at its highest level in years".
"Repairing the damage we have done to our land offers huge benefits, including a great return on investment. It can reduce poverty, create jobs, safeguard water supplies, protect food production, and improve land rights and incomes – especially for smallholder farmers and women".
For more information on this subject, see:
