Theme For World Environment Day 2024
The theme for World Environment Day 2024 is “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.” This theme underscores the global importance of restoring land, combating desertification, and enhancing resilience to drought. The focus is on highlighting the critical need to address land degradation, which currently impacts around 3.2 billion people globally due to desertification. Projections suggest that by 2050, over three-quarters of the world’s population will be affected by drought. This year’s World Environment Day precedes the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16, scheduled for December 2024 in the United Kingdom.
The 2024 campaign is hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the significance of the theme in the current environmental context. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) coordinates World Environment Day, which has been celebrated annually since 1973 to promote awareness and action on environmental issues. The theme for 2024 was chosen to address the alarming rise in droughts, which have increased by 29% since 2000, and the degradation of up to 40% of the planet’s land.
World Environment Day 2024 calls for global action to halt and reverse land degradation, desertification, and drought. It is part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), which aims to protect and revive ecosystems worldwide. The campaign encourages individuals, communities, and nations to contribute to land restoration efforts and emphasizes the urgent need for action to ensure a sustainable future for all.
