World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: Check this year’s theme and measures India has taken to restore degraded land

Every year on 17 June is observed as World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. This day aims to create awareness about sustainable development and the welfare of people. The United Nations General Assembly in December 1994 acknowledged this day to spread awareness about the cooperation required to combat desertification and drought. The UN General Assembly is also making efforts to bring attention to the association between consumption and land. What’s the theme of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2021? Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the theme for this special day is “restoration, land and recovery. We build back better with healthy land”. The events and campaign run by the UN this year will focus on how the personal impact of desertification can be reduced worldwide. What’s the significance of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2021? The day is also going to be observed to make individuals mindful about community participation at all levels. It will help in the execution of the plan of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. By restoring degraded land, it will help to increase economic supply, create jobs across the world, raise incomes for individuals and organisations and increase food security. When working together to combat desertification and drought, it will lock away the atmospheric carbon which warms the Earth and slow the climate change, which has become a big concern these days. Moreover, amid the pandemic, it can also lessen the impacts of climate change and underpin a green recovery. How is India trying to combat desertification and drought? Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a high-level United Nations dialogue meeting informed that India is working towards restoring 2.6 crore hectares of degraded land by 2030, as per a report by NDTV. Further in the meeting, Modi also notified that India is also supporting fellow developing countries to develop land restoration strategies and tactics. With the help of these new measures, issues like economies, food security, health, safety and quality of life are sure to improve.