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The 2021 Desertification and Drought Day is held on 17 June to focus on turning degraded land into healthy land. Restoring degraded land brings economic resilience, creates jobs, raises incomes and increases food security. It helps biodiversity to recover. It locks away the atmospheric carbon warming the Earth, slowing climate change. It can also lessen the impacts of climate change and underpin a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly three quarters of the Earth’s ice-free land has been altered by humans to meet an ever-growing demand for food, raw materials, highways and homes. Avoiding, slowing and reversing the loss of productive land and natural ecosystems now is both urgent and important for a swift recovery from the pandemic and for guaranteeing the long-term survival of people and the planet.
Current commitments from over 100 countries specify the restoration of almost 1 billion hectares of land over the next decade – an area almost the size of China.5 If we restore this land, we can deliver massive benefits for people and the planet.
To celebrate the Day and become aware of our role, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced various activities and materials on its official website. Help us to achieve the restoration of our lands!
Would you like to get involved in the TNQ Hub? Do you have an upcoming event that you’d like us to attend? We’d love to hear from you! Please email tnqhub@jcu.edu.au
