Ten years on: UN marks World Day to Combat Desertification
Observances worldwide on June 17, 2004
BONN, June 14, 2004 - One fifth of the world’s population is threatened by the impacts of global desertification. Its
effects can be seen all over the world, be it in Asia, the Sahel, Latin America, throughout North America or along the
Mediterranean. Today, a third of the earth's surface is threatened by desertification, which adds up to an area of over
4 billion hectares of the planet.
On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations and its
agencies remind the global community that the breadth of drought and soil degradation cannot be ignored.
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is commemorated each year on 17 June. It is part of a UN led
international campaign to increase awareness of land degradation. This year's celebration carries special significance
as 2004 marks the tenth anniversary of the Convention’s implementation. Its theme also highlights the Social Dimensions
of Desertification: Migration and Poverty.
Celebrations are set to take place worldwide. In Bonn, Germany, the home of the UNCCD Secretariat, a ceremony marking
the anniversary will be held with federal authorities and civil society at the City Hall on June 17.