2015 World Day to Combat Desertification - WDCD

Various Heads of UN institutions and other international organizations published messages to mark the 2015 World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) on 17 June, which was commemorated under the slogan, "No such thing as a free lunch: Invest in healthy soils".

In his WDCD message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted land is a renewable resource, “but only if investments are made in land degradation neutrality, which has been proposed as an element of the post-2015 development agenda.” He called for “a change of course” aimed at “securing every hectare of land that can provide food or freshwater,” further noting that rehabilitation of degraded land will help to accelerate the control of climate change. WDCD is observed worldwide on 17 June every year. The 2015 Global Observance Event took place in Milan, Italy, as part of the ongoing UN EXPO Milano 2015.

Read more: http://nr.iisd.org/news/world-desertification-day-highlights-slm-food-security-links/ .