“Land Belongs to the Future - Let’s Climate Proof It!”

The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is observed worldwide on 17 June every year. The theme of 2014 WDCD was ecosystem-based adaptation.

With the slogan ‘Land Belongs to the Future, Let’s Climate Proof It’, the 2014 WDCD highlighted the benefits of mainstreaming sustainable land management (SLM) policies and practices into our collective response to climate change. SLM increased community and ecosystem resilience, while improving the human condition particularly in the drylands.

Objectives of 2014 WDCD

1. Increase attention given to land and soil within climate change adaptation.

2. Mobilize support for sustainable land management.

3. Call for the inclusion of land and soil and their significance in food security to be included in national climate change adaptation policies. 

The 2014 WDCD campaign kicked off on African Environment Day/Wangari Maathai Day on 3 March in Lesotho (Press Release). The event was also combined with the observance of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (UNDDD) 2010-2020. 

The events planned for the global observance include:

• Various exhibitions
• Announcement of the 2014 Land for Life Award winners
• Announcement of the 2014 National Drylands Champions
• Release of videos and infographics

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) .