World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2025

Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Two years later, the General Assembly established the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), a legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management, and declared 17 June “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought” (A/RES/49/115). This day, also known as “Desertification and Drought Day”, is observed every year to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

Two years later, in 1994, the General Assembly established the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management, and declared 17 June “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought” by its resolution A/RES/49/115.

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2025 Theme: Restore the land. Unlock the opportunities

Healthy land underpins thriving economies, with over half of global GDP dependent on nature. Yet we are depleting this natural capital at an alarming rate—some 1 million km² of healthy and productive lands, equivalent to the size of Egypt, are becoming degraded every year.

As the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 marks its halfway point, we must accelerate efforts to turn the tide of land degradation into large-scale restoration. If current trends continue, we will need to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030 to achieve a land-degradation neutral world. To date, one billion hectares of degraded land has been pledged for restoration through voluntary commitments, such as the G20 Global Land Restoration Initiative hosted by UNCCD.

Breathing life back into land yields multiple benefits for people and nature. Every dollar invested in restoring degraded lands brings between US$ 7-30 in economic returns. But despite a strong investment case, land restoration is not happening at the scale and pace that are so urgently needed.

According to the latest financial needs assessment by UNCCD’s Global Mechanism, the world needs US$ 1 billion daily to combat desertification, land degradation and drought between 2025 and 2030. Current investments in land restoration and drought resilience stand at US$ 66 billion annually, with the private sector contributing just six per cent.

DDD2025 factsheet

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