World Desertification & Drought Day 2025: The Crucial Role of Our Site's Leadership in Implementing Nature-Based Solutions Across Global Arid Regions
On the 17th of June, 2025, the UN's Desertification & Drought Day will be celebrated globally, with Bogotá, Colombia, hosting the event during the Global Land Forum. This day, marked annually, emphasizes the pressing need to combat the devastating impacts of desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD) on every dryland region in the world.
Our organization is a dedicated partner in the quest to reverse DLDD, implementing a range of projects focused on drought, desertification, land degradation, and dryland and grassland restoration. We prioritize Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and work towards sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration, often overlooked ecosystems. Our projects support countries in achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), advocate for rangelands, grasslands, and agricultural lands restoration, and strive to enhance resilience in vulnerable people and ecosystems against drought's effects.
In 2020, we published the Global Standard for NbS, a rigorously peer-reviewed framework outlining eight criteria and 28 indicators that governments, investors, and communities now use to design and verify projects. Complementing the Standard, our 2024 report, "Restoring Ecosystems to Reduce Drought Risk," offers practical guidance for integrating ecosystem restoration into national drought plans, supporting stakeholders and decision-makers in implementing effective, equitable, and adaptable solutions tailored to local contexts.
Beyond the environmental benefits provided by restoration, there is also an economic motivation. Between 1998 and 2017, droughts caused over 15% of disaster-related damages and losses, with the costs severely impacting the world's poorest and most vulnerable communities. Over US $124 billion in economic losses were attributed to droughts during this period. Additionally, up to 40% of the world's land is degraded, affecting the lives of over 3.2 billion people and amplifying poverty, malnutrition, water insecurity, and conflict over natural resources. An alarming US $878 billion is lost annually due to DLDD. Yet, investing in restoration, sustainable land management, and drought risk mitigation offers significant returns. Restoring one billion hectares pledged under global agreements could generate US $1.8 trillion annually—an internal rate of return of 7–30 times every dollar invested. Closing the restoration-finance gap requires approximately US $2.6 trillion by 2030, a comparatively low cost when considering the alternative of inaction.
Restoration holds significant socioeconomic advantages as well. Women and girls are disproportionately harmed by drought and land degradation, leading to increased gender-based violence, forced marriage, and hindered access to education, particularly in rural areas. Women are the primary producers of food in developing countries, yet own less than 20% of the land. Addressing DLDD requires women to have greater access and rights to land and natural resources, as well as stronger decision-making power across governance scales. During periods of drought, children are most vulnerable, suffering from extreme malnutrition and increased risk of death. Drought also exacerbates displacement and migration and contributes to violent conflict, a trend expected to intensify with climate change. In essence, investing in restoration, sustainable land management, and drought risk mitigation benefits society, economies, and nature.
To tackle DLDD, projects like the Dryland Sustainable Landscapes Impact Programme (DSL-IP), Restoring Ecosystems to Reduce Drought Risk and Increase Resilience, and Safeguarding Overlooked Ecosystems: Protecting, Managing, and Restoring Grasslands and Savannahs in Latin America, aim to improve land management practices, promote drought resilience, and restore degraded lands. These initiatives prioritize sustainable land use, community engagement, knowledge sharing, and international cooperation, embodying a comprehensive approach to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought while promoting ecosystem resilience and socioeconomic development.
The costs of degraded land and the benefits of restoration make it clear that Desertification & Drought Day serves as a crucial reminder of the urgent need for action. Our organization, along with its partners, provides the tools, knowledge, and expertise to combat DLDD, securing a sustainable future for people, planet, and prosperity.
- The UN's Desertification & Drought Day in 2025, on the 17th of June, emphasizes combating the impacts of desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD) globally.
- Bogotá, Colombia, hosts the event during the Global Land Forum this year.
- Our organization is invested in reversing DLDD, focusing on projects related to drought, desertification, land degradation, and dryland and grassland restoration.
- We prioritize Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and work towards sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration.
- The organization's projects strive to enhance resilience in vulnerable people and ecosystems against drought's effects.
- In 2020, the organization published the Global Standard for NbS, offering a peer-reviewed framework for designing and verifying projects.
- The 2024 report "Restoring Ecosystems to Reduce Drought Risk" provides practical guidance for integrating ecosystem restoration into national drought plans.
- Investing in restoration, sustainable land management, and drought risk mitigation offers significant economic returns, with up to 7-30 times the return on every dollar invested.
- Closing the restoration-finance gap requires approximately US $2.6 trillion by 2030.
- Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by drought and land degradation, with increased gender-based violence, hindered access to education, and heightened malnutrition rates in rural areas.
- Women are primary food producers in developing countries, yet own less than 20% of the land, necessitating greater access and rights to land and natural resources to address DLDD.
- Projects like DSL-IP, Restoring Ecosystems to Reduce Drought Risk and Increase Resilience, and Safeguarding Overlooked Ecosystems aim to improve land management practices and promote drought resilience.
- Investing in restoration and sustainable land management not only benefits the environment but also society and economies, making it a crucial aspect of climate-change mitigation efforts and sustainable living.
