“Each second, round 4 soccer fields of wholesome land are degraded,” stated UN Secretary-Common António Guterres.
“The safety, prosperity and well being of billions of individuals depend on thriving lands supporting lives, livelihoods and ecosystems, however we’re vandalising the Earth that sustains us.”
Desertification, land degradation and drought are at the moment among the many most urgent environmental challenges.
United for land
The Day’s theme is United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future, spotlighting the way forward for land stewardship, which is the planet’s most treasured useful resource to make sure the soundness and prosperity of billions of individuals all over the world.
Wholesome land not solely offers us with nearly 95 per cent of meals eaten all over the world, however a lot extra. It garments and shelters folks, offers jobs and livelihoods and protects communities from the worsening droughts, floods and wildfires.
“As the main focus of this yr’s World Day reminds us, we should be ‘United for Land’,” he stated. “Governments, companies, teachers, communities and extra should come collectively and act.”
‘We all know what we have to do’
Rising populations coupled with unsustainable manufacturing and consumption patterns gas demand for pure assets, placing extreme strain on land to the purpose of degradation.
On the similar time, desertification and drought are driving pressured migration, placing tens of thousands and thousands of individuals annually susceptible to displacement.
Of the world’s eight billion inhabitants, over one billion of younger folks beneath the age of 25 years reside in creating international locations, notably in areas instantly depending on land and pure assets for sustenance. Creating job prospects for rural populations is a viable answer that offers younger folks entry to eco-entrepreneurship alternatives and on the similar time to scale up greatest practices.
“We all know what we have to do,” the UN chief stated. “It’s set out clearly within the UN Conference to Fight Desertification (UNCCD). As we mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Conference, the world should dramatically decide up the tempo of implementation.”
To do that, he pointed to constructing momentum in direction of UNCCD Convention of States Events (COP16) in Riyadh and guaranteeing younger persons are heard within the negotiations.
“Collectively, let’s sow the seeds for a thriving future for nature and humanity,” he stated.
Quick details
NOOR for FAO/Benedicte Kurzen
Girls in Senegal work in tree nurseries created as a part of the Nice Inexperienced Wall initiative to enhance residing situations, biodiversity conservation and the sustainability of the land within the Sahel area.
- Each second, an equal of 4 soccer fields of wholesome land turns into degraded, including as much as a complete of 100 million hectares annually
- Every greenback invested in land restoration can yield as much as $30 in return
- In lots of international locations affected by desertification, land degradation and drought, agriculture represents a excessive share of financial income
- Below UNCCD, over 130 international locations have already pledged to attain land degradation neutrality by 2030 in direction of a world the place human exercise has a impartial, and even constructive, impression on the land
- The UN helps revolutionary efforts worldwide, together with the newly launched Nice Inexperienced Wall Observatory, which tracks progress of Africa’s largest land restoration initiative to fight land degradation, desertification and the unfavorable impacts of local weather change within the Sahel area
- The UN Academic. Scientific and Cultural Group (UNESCO) established a rising nationwide and international networks of “Geoparks” combining conservation and sustainable growth, with 213 UNESCO International Geoparks working in 48 international locations and counting
- Study extra about how the UN helps right here
