International Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

Healthy land is essential to global prosperity: more than half of the world’s GDP depends on nature’s services. Yet we are depleting this natural capital at an alarming rate. Every minute, the equivalent of four football fields is lost due to land degradation.

This phenomenon leads to biodiversity loss, worsens drought risks, and forces population displacement. Its impacts are global: rising food prices, instability, and forced migration. Today, up to 40% of the world’s land is already degraded.

Since 2000, the World Meteorological Organization has reported a 29% increase in both the number and duration of droughts (2021), compared to the previous two decades.

As a result, more than 2.3 billion people—almost 30% of the global population—are affected by water stress. Projections indicate that by 2050, droughts could impact over three-quarters of the world’s population.

In response, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) is now at its midpoint. To reverse the trend, it is urgent to step up efforts and build a restoration economy estimated to be worth $1 trillion by 2030.

Under the theme “Restoring Land. Unlocking Opportunities,” the 2025 edition highlights the key role of land restoration: job creation, food and water security, climate action, and enhanced economic resilience.

It is time to turn ambition into concrete action to preserve land and the communities that depend on it.

Explore the newsletter produced by the SNJM Water-Ecology Committee in 2024, featuring videos and practical ways to get involved. Available in in English, Spanish and French.