During the United Nations General Assembly's 58th Ordinary Session in 2003, a decision was adopted declaring 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD) to profile Desertification as a Major Thread to Humanity.

Following the joint circular sent by the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD and the Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), encouraging the issuance of commemorative stamps on the occasion of the IYDD, the postal administrations of Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Egypt, China, El Salvador, the Holy See, Portugal, Spain and Turkey issued such stamps.

Many events, exhibitions, conferences, festivals have taken place during the IYDD among which:
International exhibition “The deserts” (30 March to 8 October 2006, Rosenheim, Germany). This exhibition was part of the Bavarian contribution to the celebration of the IYDD. By the time the exhibition closed, more than 200,000 people had visited it

International film festival “Desert Nights: Tales from the Desert” (1–7 December 2006, Rome, Italy). The aim of this international film festival was to raise awareness and inform the public at large, through the magic of cinema, about the daily lives, the stories, the struggles and the dreams of the people of the drylands.

The International Year of Deserts and Desertification ( IYDD ) provided a unique opportunity for awareness rising on a truly global scale and through a variety of stakeholders, including Parties, observers, international organizations and NGOs. As such, it made a substantial contribution to ongoing efforts to raise the profile and visibility of the land degradation issue in the international sustainable development agenda, and confirmed the active commitment of numerous institutional partners to fully integrate and mainstream the desertification agenda in their respective areas of intervention and programme of work.