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World Desertification and Drought Day
On 17 June Desertification and Drought Day is observed internationally. Desertification and drought is a global issue that affects all regions and requires joint action by the international community to address the degradation of soil, especially in Africa.
This year’s theme is: Restoration. Land. Recovery. It focuses on the rehabilitation of degraded land back to healthy land. The aim is to create awareness of the benefits that restoration of degraded land brings which includes economic resilience, employment creation, raising of incomes and increases in food security. Importantly it helps biodiversity to recover. Restoring soil to a healthy condition leads to the trapping of the atmospheric carbon that causes global warming and thereby slowing climate change.
An increasing global population that drives an ever-growing demand for food, housing, raw materials, highways and other infrastructure has had an immense impact on the earth. Almost three-quarters of the world’s surface has been altered by human activity while 23% of land globally is no longer productive, showing the importance of conserving what remains. It is also crucial that we fix damaged ecosystems. By doing so it will be possible to mitigate the effects of climate change and strengthen natural defences against extreme weather events such as wildfires, droughts, floods and sand and dust storms. By restoring natural landscapes it is also possible to mitigate human-wildlife conflict by increasing the size of the land on which animals can look for food that in turn keeps them further away from settlements.
According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the prevention and reversing of the loss of productive land and natural ecosystems is extremely urgent and could be key for the quick recovery from COVID-19 and for ensuring the long-term survival of humans.
“Land restoration can contribute greatly to post-COVID economic recovery. Investing in land restoration creates jobs and generates economic benefits, and could provide livelihoods at a time when hundreds of millions of jobs are being lost,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary.
In Namibia with its two deserts, we need to be particularly adamant about the conservation of natural landscapes. Restoration of degraded land caused by overgrazing and other poor farming methods should become a priority in the face of a world climate that is rapidly changing. We are at the forefront of the battle against desertification. The recent seven-year drought was a good warning of a possible future where drought cycles might become longer and good rain years less.
The current rate of loss of productive land will cause a steady increase in unemployment and a downturn in the economy. Where land restoration and smart investments in sustainable practices can lead to more employment and economic benefits in the long term.
This is especially important in Namibia where foreign companies sell job creation and wealth through activities such as logging operations in the Zambezi Region and drilling for oil in the Kavango Region that will only cause even worse poverty, unemployment as well as the destruction of the natural environment in the long run. These companies sell the creation of a couple of hundred jobs and brag about the value of the natural riches only to leave behind the loss of countless livelihoods through the destruction of natural land and resources.
Desertification and Drought Day aims to create public awareness and to remind people that reversing land degradation is achievable through strong community involvement and cooperation. This is an issue that affects us all. The time to act is now.
