World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought - 17 June

Her land. Her rights

Droughts are among the greatest threats to sustainable development, especially in developing countries, but increasingly so in developed nations too. In fact, forecasts estimate that by 2050 droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population.

The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 percent since 2000, as compared to the two previous decades (WMO 2021). When more than 2.3 billion people already face water stress, this is a huge problem.

Women hold a vital stake in the health of the land, yet they often don't have control over it.

In all parts of the world, women face significant barriers in securing land rights, limiting their ability to thrive and prosper.

In many regions, they remain subject to discriminatory laws and practices that impede their right to inherit and access to services and resources.

And when land becomes degraded and water is scarce, women are often the worst affected.

This year, the theme of the International Day Against Desertification, and Drought "Her land. Her rights", emphasizes that investing in women’s equal access to land and associated assets is a direct investment in their future and the future of humanity. It's time for women and girls to be at the forefront of global land restoration and drought resilience efforts.

Download the logo and other digital materials

Access the campaign and our material to spread the message. You will find the logo of the International Day in several languages, as well as posters, banners, videos and other content to share thanks to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, organism that leads this UN Observance.

Access the materials here.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is fully committed to placing gender equality firmly at the core of its mandate. Gender equality is key to deliver sustainable, progressive, and meaningful action to avoid, reduce, and reverse land degradation. We cannot achieve land degradation neutrality without gender equality, and we must include all land users and decision-makers in the process regardless of gender.

A global awareness-raising and advocacy campaign led by UNCCD and partners will:

• Champion women’s land rights as essential for achieving the intertwined global goals of gender equality and land degradation neutrality by 2030;
• Amplify women’s and girls’ voices to share their daily experiences facing desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD).
• The campaign will be culminating on 17 June – Desertification and Drought Day – and continue into 2024.

Hashtags: #HerLand where appropriate #LandSheroes to highlight female land champions

We are calling on you to share a story, video or photo that helps promote one or more of the four campaign objectives:

• Photo series telling your story: JPG/JPEG format, 300ppi resolution and at least 3000px on the longest side
• Video/short film: 60-120 second visual or audio entry of any format (120 mbs): short films, interviews, documentaries, poems, songs, etc.
• Accompanying text: No more than 300 words
• Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact herland@unccd.int

This part of the article has been published in the United Nations' site in this link: https://www.un.org/en/observances/desertification-day.