6th World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD)

As part of its campaign to tackle global environmental deterioration, particularly by combatting the degradation of drylands - which cover up to one quarter of the world's surface - the United Nations General Assembly designated 17 June as "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought". Celebrated world-wide, this day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Desertification Press Award assigned in Bonn, Germany

The International Media Award of 5,000 USD for excellence in reporting on "Desertification: a global threat" was assigned on 17 June. Mr. Raphael Mweninguwe, journalist of the newspaper "The Nation", Malawi, is the winner of the prize, which is cosponsored by the Secretariat of the UNCCD, the City of Bonn and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). An international jury deemed his reportage particularly effective in promoting public awareness of the problem in his country.

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).