Theme: “Migration and Poverty”

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCD) is commemorated each year on 17 June. In 1994, 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).

2004 celebration carried special significance as marked the tenth anniversary of the Convention’s implementation. Its theme also highlights the social dimensions of desertification “Migration and Poverty”.

Celebrations took place worldwide. In Bonn, Germany, the home of the UNCCD Secretariat, a ceremony marking the anniversary was hold with local authorities and civil society at the Bonn City Hall on 17 June 2004.

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).