The theme aims to raise understanding and drive collective action to restore degraded lands, reverse desertification, and strengthen resilience to droughts. It’s closely associated with multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The theme primarily links with SDG-13 and SDG-15, which, respectively, promotes climate action and emphasis the need for protection and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems. By enhancing agricultural productivity, improving availability and sustainability of food and water resources for well-being of humanity, the theme, henceforth, also aligns with SDG-02, SDG-03, and SDG-06. Additionally, the collaborative nature of this theme relates with SDG-17, as it prioritizes the need of partnerships and mutual collaboration for achieving shared objectives regarding environment preservation.
Land restoration involves rehabilitating degraded lands to restore their ecological functionality. Land degradation occurs due to climate change, overgrazing, and human activities like deforestation and destructive agricultural and urban practices. It leads to soil infertility and erosion subsequently affecting food productivity. UN-Environment Programme estimates suggest that more than 3.2 billion people, or roughly 40 percent world’s population, are adversary affected by land degradation. By 2040, food production is estimated to decrease by 12 percent, leading to 30 percent increase in cost of food due to land degradation. Therefore, land restoration is crucial not only for sustenance of biodiversity, but also for increasing soil productivity and ensuring food security.
Techniques like agroforestry, where trees and shrubs are planted into agricultural lands, and managed grazing, which controls livestock to prevent overgrazing, are commonly used in restoration projects. Similarly, reforestation and reintroduction of native animal and plant species, generally called, rewilding, can be used to re-stabilize natural ecosystem. Multi-crop cultivation and soil management for preserving natural balance of nutrients in soil can also help restoration of land for sustainable revitalization.
Desertification, a form of land degradation, is a process by which fertile land becomes barren and gradually turns into desert. Drylands, covering nearly 34 percent of the land mass, are crucial for food supply. But desertification of drylands significantly renders the land’s capacity to support life, leading to a decline in biodiversity, agricultural productivity, and eventually, destruction of ecosystem. Human-induced factors such as deforestation, pollution, and improper irrigation practices have exacerbated desertification.
The risk of desertification spans more than 100 countries, hitting some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations the hardest. According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), desertification currently affects 250 million people globally, and it could displace up to 135 million people by 2045, making it one of humanity’s most severe environmental challenges.
Desertification can be countered through a combination of sustainable land management practices and ecological restoration efforts. Key strategies include reforestation and afforestation, which help restore vegetative cover and prevent soil erosion. Implementing sustainable agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, agroforestry, and conservation tillage can enhance soil fertility and moisture retention. Water management practices like rainwater harvesting and the construction of terraces can reduce runoff and improve water infiltration.
Drought resilience refers to the ability of an ecosystem or community to withstand and recover from prolonged period of drought. They can devastate ecosystems by damaging natural habitat, and can permanently diminish food and water resources. In an era of increasing climate variability, droughts can cause severe economic and social disasters like famine and mass migration, which in turn can cause social unrest, political instability and even trigger conflicts. Over 11 million people have perished and more than 2 billion people have been affected by droughts since 1900. Currently, East Africa is experiencing its worst drought in last 40 years, and has caused force displacement of more than 1.4 million people in Somalia alone.
Drought resilience can be developed by implementing a combination of advanced technologies and sustainable practices. Efficient irrigation systems, such as drip and precision irrigation, can optimize water use in agriculture. The cultivation of drought-resistant crops, developed through genetic modification and selective breeding, can help maintain food supply during dry periods. Additionally, improving soil health through techniques like mulching, cover cropping, and organic farming enhances water retention and reduces erosion. Early warning systems and predictive analytics allow proactive preparation against potential drought threats. Moreover, adaptation of water-efficient practices and optimizing water-intensive activities, both in agricultural and urban areas, can help better withstand drought conditions.
In recent years, there have been few success stories as far as restoring land and countering droughts is concerned. Great Green Wall project in Africa, launched in 2007, is a massive tree-plantation initiative with objective of combating desertification. The project aims to plant 8,000 kilometers long wall of tress from West to East Africa and restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. The project, although still in progress, has shown remarkable results.
China’s greening campaign, started in the late 1990s, has increased forest coverage from 12 percent to over 22 percent, successfully combating desertification. China’s Grain for Green (GFG) programme, initiated in 1999 and launched nationwide in 2002, has also achieved successful outcomes. Under this programme, 8.216 million hectors of degrading land with increasing vulnerability to desertification has been transformed into forestland.
Similarly, the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, founded by Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai in 1977, has also planted over 50 million trees. This initiative averted desertification and also provided economic benefits to local communities via sustainable forestry practices. Similarly, The Altiplano in Bolivia, once degraded by overgrazing, has been transformed through a community-led restoration project using check dams, native grasses, and rotational grazing.
Technological advancements can also be employed to supplement environmental restoration efforts. Precision agriculture technologies, such as satellite imagery, drones, and soil sensors, can enable farmers to optimize water usage and crop plantation. Reforestation and afforestation efforts can be enhanced by using drones to plant seeds and monitor growth. Additionally, early warning systems and climate modeling tools can help predict and mitigate the impacts of drought by enabling proactive resource management and planning. Moreover, remote sensing and Graphic Information Systems (GIS) mapping can provide detailed insights into land conditions. These technologies, combined with sustainable land management practices, can significantly contribute to reversing land degradation and desertification while enhancing resilience to drought.
This World Maritime Day has delivered a sober reminder to timely counter environment degradation so that its far-reaching ramifications could be avoided. Awareness and spread of knowledge to reclaim our ecosystem is essential. Without realization of threat, mitigation strategies cannot be developed. Ecosystem restoration is possible and degraded landscape can be restored into thriving ecosystems. But collaborative efforts of various stake holders, both at national and international level, are crucial. Without awareness and collective efforts, reclamation of our planet will remain a far-fetched reality.