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World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought which fell yesterday (June 17) is observed every year to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.

This year’s theme is “Land degradation and migration” which examines the important link between land degradation and migration. Among others, environmental degradation, food insecurity and poverty are causes of migration and development challenges.

This day should remind everyone of land’s important role in producing food and generating local employment, as well as its ability to add to the sustainability, stability and security of desertification-affected places.

This year’s key events are being held at Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change. (Incidentally, Burkina Faso is one of the few countries having a separate Climate Change Ministry).

Migration poses a big challenge to host countries, many of which are poor themselves, because they have to feed additional mouths using the same extent of arable land. In just 15 years, the number of international migrants worldwide has risen from 173 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2015.

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