Nearly 40% of Earth’s land surface classified as degraded

ISTANBUL

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is being marked on Tuesday with a grim reminder that 1 million square kilometers of productive land become degraded due to desertification every year and nearly 40% of the Earth’s land surface is classified as degraded.

Observed annually with a different theme, the UN officially designated June 17 as “Desertification and Drought Day” in 1994 to raise awareness and mobilize action to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought to confront the global crisis, according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

This year, the day will be marked under the theme “Restore the land; Unlock the opportunities” in a bid to highlight land restoration and catalyze a trillion-dollar restoration economy by 2030, beginning in 2025.

Today, nearly 40% of the Earth’s land surface is classified as degraded, directly affecting over 3 billion people and causing dire effects on the climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods across the globe.

The combined economic losses from land degradation, desertification, and drought, according to the UNCCD, are estimated at $878 billion annually, underscoring the urgent need for global intervention.

According to the UNCCD Global Mechanism, halting and reversing land degradation will require a sustained global investment of $1 billion per day between 2025 and 2030.

The overarching global target is to restore 15 million square kilometers of degraded land by 2030, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

"I urge governments, businesses, and communities to answer the call and accelerate action on our shared global commitments on sustainable land use. We must reverse degradation and boost finance for restoration – including by unlocking private investment," said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a message published on June 10 on the occasion of World Desertification and Drought Day.