2016 World Day to Combat Desertification

ONLINE
17 June 2016

17 June 2016

There may be no greater issue than land in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our food, clothing and homes all come from land resources.

In order to “leave no one behind” and develop sustainably as set forth in the new SDGs, achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) must be a top priority.

This year’s World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) calls for community involvement and cooperation at every level to restore and rehabilitate degraded land in order to achieve the SDGs. This year's WDCD theme is "Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People."

Land has been an overlooked part of sustainable development for years. We now view land as a vital key to solve development challenges that involve climate change.

The global WDCD observance event on 17 June 2016 will be held in Beijing, China, hosted by the State Forestry Administration of China (SFA). In 2013 China embarked on the new development strategy, “The Belt and Road,” aiming to strengthen cooperation among countries in Eurasia. Since then, it has been promoting green and low-carbon infrastructure construction in cooperation with neighboring countries connected by the historic Silk Road.

By organizing the WDCD global observance in China, the 2016 WDCD will demonstrate how LDN can be a critical element for achieving other SDGs, especially for promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth. At the global observance event, the host country will announce the “One Belt and One Road Joint Action to Combating Desertification Initiative” together with interested countries and stakeholders.

Anyone who is celebrating WDCD is encouraged to inform the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Secretariat by email WDCD2016 [at] unccd.int (WDCD2016[at]unccd[dot]int) so the events can be promoted through various media channels.

All countries use the land for food and water. Make sure your country celebrates the land by joining us!

To request further information, such as WDCD messages from United Nations officials or press releases in additional languages, as well as past campaign, press or awareness raising materials, please contact secretariat [at] unccd.int (secretariat[at]unccd[dot]int) .

2016 World Day to Combat Desertification

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