Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 and led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), this day highlights the urgent need to preserve and restore our planet’s ecosystems.
Under the motto Our lands. Our future. We are the #RestorationGeneration, the campaign highlights the importance of restoring lands, stopping desertification and strengthening resilience against drought, one of the most serious threats to terrestrial ecosystems.
According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 percent of the planet’s land areas are degraded, a fact that directly affects half of the world’s population.
Figures show that since 2000, the number and duration of drought periods have increased by 29 percent, and it is projected that, without urgent action, droughts could impact more than three quarters of the world’s population. for 2050.
A UNEP statement on the occasion reflects on ecosystems around the world and their deterioration: from forests and arid lands to agricultural lands and lakes.
These natural spaces are fundamental for human survival and are reaching a point of no return.
Desertification and land degradation not only affect biodiversity, but also put food security, water resources and the economic well-being of millions of people at risk, it warns.
The analysis considers that to mitigate these effects, soil restoration is essential.
This includes reforestation, revitalizing water sources and improving soil health.
Global actions to protect soils are part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), which seeks to protect and revitalize ecosystems worldwide, thus contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
World Environment Day 2024 also marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
This World Environment Day is a call for collective action to ensure that our lands, and our future, are protected for generations to come, UNEP points out.
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