World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: the land is valuable, invest in it

Odejobi Yusuf, Osho Oluwatosin & Alasi Adedoyin

Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the productivity of the land.

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a United Nations Observance day to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.

The 2018 World Day to Combat Desertification campaign (#2018WDCD)is themed: “Land has true value – invest in it”, urges everyone to move away from unsustainable land use and make a difference by investing in the future of land because our choices today determine future scenarios for sustainable growth. 

We often use land as if it were a limitless resource, ignoring its role in our everyday lives. This negligence threatens food and water supply, biodiversity and even human security itself. Short-sighted economic gains such as land grabbing, unplanned urban sprawl, unsustainable agriculture and over-consumption lead to unsustainable land use, which eventually causes degradation and loss of critical ecosystem services. As a result, consumption of the Earth´s natural reserves has doubled in the last 30 years, with a third of the planet´s land already severely degraded.

Every one of us has a role to play, know the true value of land and invest in it:

Consumers can spend money on organic and fairly trade products to avoid land degradation.

Farmers can invest in smart agriculture that leads to higher yields despite a reduction in inputs like pesticides.

Policy makers and land managers can support bio-economy by investing in new Sustainable Land Management (SLM) technologies and processes.  

Making a pledge to protect and conserve the value of land.

Observing World Day to Combat Desertification, supporting a sustainable way of living, producing and consuming.

Organizing an event or launching an initiative to promote sustainable land management (SLM) and land degradation neutrality (LDN).

Sharing photos and videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Weibo accounts. Remember to tag @UNCCD and use the hashtag #2018WDCD.

We can all contribute to and benefit from investing in SLM – whether we act as consumers, producers, corporations, or governments. Changes in behavior and adoption of more efficient planning and practices can guarantee that sufficient land resources are available long-term to meet our ambitions for and to provide sustainable livelihoods.

The choice is ours. Know the true value of land and invest in it