International Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2025
Every year, desertification occurs in one million square kilometers of land around the world.
June 17, 2012, was the ‘International Day to Combat Desertification and Drought’. Since 1995, the United Nations has celebrated this day globally to raise awareness about desertification and drought, aiming to enhance international cooperation to address this issue. That year, the day was celebrated for the first time in Bangladesh in the drought-prone municipality of Kakanhat in Rajshahi. Because Bangladesh is one of the signatories to the UN Convention on the subject.
When the amount of water that is supposed to be in the soil for growing crops is not there, it is called drought. Due to drought, the soil loses its natural properties or softness and becomes rough. This can be due to two reasons: lack of rain or lack of irrigation.
In Bangladesh, if there is no rain for 15 straight days during the monsoon, it is considered a drought. Desertification is the process where fertile land becomes desert due to rising temperatures, drought, and human activities linked to climate change.
This year’s theme for the ‘International Day to Combat Desertification and Drought’ is Restore the Land, Unlock the Opportunities.’ That is, bringing life back to the land will also open the door to prosperity.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated, “What is good for the land is also good for people and the economy.”
‘However, desertification is occurring at an alarming rate by humanity. The annual cost to the global economy is about $880 billion. This loss is much higher than the investment needed to solve the problem.’
The UN Secretary-General also said, ‘Drought is driving people from their homes and intensifying food insecurity. The number of newly displaced people has reached its highest level in recent years.
On April 7, Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), stated that fertile land is essential for a prosperous economy. More than half of global GDP depends on nature. Each year, around one million square kilometers of fertile land are turning into desert—an area as large as Egypt and almost seven times the size of Bangladesh. Ibrahim Thiaw hopes to create a trillion-dollar economy by revitalizing 1.5 billion hectares of barren land worldwide.
Land desertification and drought severely disrupt our economy, stability, food production, access to clean water, and quality of life. They exacerbate climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, forced migration, and conflicts over fertile land and water. If wasteland can be made arable, it is a source of endless potential. Now is the time to seize that opportunity,” Thiaw said.
Desertification and drought are both environmental problems, which are currently a cause for concern worldwide. Due to this, land productivity decreases, and it has a serious impact on agriculture and biodiversity. Both phenomena have a negative impact on food security, water supply, and livelihoods. They lead to environmental disasters.
Experts say the main causes of desertification are overgrazing, deforestation, unplanned agriculture, and climate change.
The UNCCD estimates that by 2030, 135 million people globally may lose their homes and jobs due to desertification.
In October 2023, the UNCCD data dashboard reported that between 2015 and 2019, the world lost at least 1 million hectares of fertile land each year, an area twice the size of temperate Greenland.
At least 20% of the land in East and Central Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean is severely decertified.
Desertification mostly impacts the Sahel region in Africa, the Gobi Desert and Mongolia in Asia, and areas in South America.
The rate of land desertification in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean is faster than the global average. Since 2015, 163 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa and 108 million hectares in Latin America and the Caribbean have suffered from desertification.
Forty years ago, water was easily accessible in the Varendra region, which includes 214 unions across five districts: Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, and Naogaon.
A recent survey by warpo, Bangladesh, indicates that 87 out of 214 unions are experiencing severe water shortages. The number of water-stressed areas has also increased steadily compared to the 1990s.
A study by Rajshahi University’s Department of Geology and Mining found that groundwater levels in the Varendra area are decreasing. According to the department’s research, in 1994 the average groundwater level in the Varendra area was 35 feet. In 2021, it decreased to a remarkable 70 feet. During this period, the water level was not found even below 200 feet in some areas.
On April 10, 2023, a climate strike took place in Rajshahi, calling for a separate drought fund and a national drought policy for the Barind Tract. During the global climate strike, a research institute staged a five-minute protest by blocking a road at Saheb Bazar’s Zero Point in Rajshahi to highlight the issue of drought.
The strike organizers claim that violence in the Varendra region is rising due to drought and water rights issues. This drought is killing marginalized people, including farmers and tribals.
Some districts in the southern region are also at risk of this drought. The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) reports that drought damages crop on 3 to 4 million hectares annually.
Curtesy: The daily star Bangla
