The United Nations’ World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is annually observed on June 17 to highlight the urgent need to curb the desertification process. It also aims to strengthen the visibility of the drylands issue on the international environmental agenda. This being the International Year on Forests , the World Day to Combat Desertification for 2011 will focus specifically on the forests in the drylands areas of the world, guided by the motto: ‘Forests keep drylands working’.
What do people do?
Individuals and organizations in various countries, such as Australia, Algeria, Canada, China, Ghana, and the United States, have participated in the day in recent years. Many events focus on educational activities to help combat problems relating to desertification and drought.
Promotional activities may include the distribution of awareness raising materials, such as calendars, fact sheets, posters and postcards, to educational institutions and the general public. The day may also feature educational case studies, forums or discussions on drought and desertification, its implications on society and ways to minimize the problem.
However, the effort to fight against desertification and drought does not occur only on this day. Many countries have been making a progressive effort in proactively addressing the issue and looking for solutions. For example, the Algerian Government resorted to a French research and engineering firm, in view of elaborating a national plan to protect the agricultural lands and to fight desertification. Pilot projects in Lebanon resulted in villagers producing za’atar and other traditional delicacies to tackle the agricultural decline caused by years of drought and desert expansion.
What can we all do?
- We can ALL plant trees, one, ten or ten thousand, as many as we can, either by direct planting ourselves, in communities or through organised schemes.
- We can ALL make every effort to visit a pristine forest somewhere in the world, to fully understand its phenomenal splendour.
- We can ALL refuse to buy ANY consumer goods unless absolutely sure they have NOT helped to destroy pristine forests anywhere on the globe.
- We can ALL write to our politicians and businesses to insist they will not earn profits from the destruction of pristine forests and will support reforestation efforts.
- Explore this great website and support reforestation worldwide
Public life
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a global observance and not a public holiday.
Background
In December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The assembly acknowledged that desertification and drought were global problems because they affected all regions of the world. The assembly also realized that joint action by the international community was needed to combat desertification and drought, particularly in Africa.
States were invited to devote the World Day to promoting awareness of the need for international cooperation to combat desertification and the effects of drought, and on the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification. Since then, country parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), non-governmental organizations and other interested stakeholders celebrate this particular day with outreach activities worldwide on June 17 each year.
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Read more: http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/
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