The Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is celebrated on June 17 of each year. The decree was established by the UN, with the objective of raising awareness of the importance for human beings and the planet to address and provide solutions to the problems of desertification and drought, which represent serious present and future problems for all humanity.
What is desertification and drought?
Desertification is the result of permanent soil degradation, caused by constant deforestation of forests, salinization, lack of water and overexploitation of aquifers, which is generally produced by the different economic activities that lead to man carried out in different parts of the world.
On the other hand, drought represents a change or anomaly in the climate, which occurs when water levels are well below what corresponds in a certain geographic area, considerably affecting all species that grow and develop in those areas.
The main cause lies in the absence of rainfall. This day focuses on the transformation of degraded lands into healthy lands. Hence its title: “Restoration. Land. Recovery”. Restoring degraded lands contributes to economic resilience, job creation, increased income and greater food security; helps restore biodiversity; it allows capturing the atmospheric carbon that warms the Earth, thus reducing the effect of climate change; and supports a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as restoring natural landscapes reduces direct contact between wildlife and human settlements, creating a natural barrier against zoonoses.
Sources consulted:
https://www.diainternacionalde.com/ficha/dia-mundial-desertificacion-sequia
https://www.un.org/es/observances/desertification-day
https://www.ambiente.gob.ec/dia-mundial-de-lucha-contra-la-desertificacion-y-la-sequia/
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