World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2025: how restoring land can boost the economy

What state will the soils of the Earth be in when we pass them on to future generations? The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought invites us to reflect on soil restoration and its social and environmental impact.

About the author

Yolanda G. Menéndez

Journalist and communicator

Journalist and content manager specialising in sustainability. Trained at the Carlos III University of Madrid, she works at the intersection between the environmental, the human and the organisational from a conscious and committed point of view.

Her texts seek to provide clarity and perspective, integrating a critical, conscious and documented look at the challenges of the present.

Meet the author

In one of the driest regions in southern Europe, one farm has achieved the seemingly impossible: returning life to a degraded landscape. Thanks to practices such as regenerative agriculture, efficient water management and natural composting, it has managed to recover soil fertility, attract biodiversity and open up new economic and educational opportunities for the local community. This example reminds us that regenerating the Earth is not only an environmental question, it is also a way of changing our economic and social models at their roots.

The 2025 World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a date for reaffirming the transformative power of soil restoration. Because where there’s life, there’s earth and the possibility of building a fairer and more resilient future.

What will I learn from this article?

What is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought and why is it important?

It has been over three decades now that desertification has occupied a place as one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. By way of a response, in 1994 the UN General Assembly established the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), one of the three global treaties, along with climate and biodiversity, known as the Rio Conventions.

On 17 June, we commemorate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. In 2025, the slogan is “Restore the land. Unlock the opportunities”, which reminds us that regenerating the soil does not only improve the environment, it also creates jobs, boosts rural economies and strengthens climate resilience. Find out how you can be part of that change.

Because, if a small agricultural community has managed to reverse years of soil degradation and transform a hostile environment into an engine of life and opportunities, can we not project that onto a larger scale with willingness, knowledge and international collaboration?

Restoring the land to create jobs and foster rural development

Restoring the land is not just a technical response to an environmental problem. It is a profound opportunity to rebalance the relationship between people and the planet and to activate new forms of economic, social and ecological development.

When degraded land becomes fertile again, it also regenerates the means of life: the agriculture becomes more productive, ecosystems recover their function, and communities can maintain their territories. Sustainable jobs emerge, food independence increases, and vulnerability to extreme phenomena such as drought or forced migrations is reduced.

Soil restoration also drives innovation: from technologies for efficient water use to new business models based on the regenerative economy. And it opens the door to new rural leadership, where young people, women and local collectives participate actively in the transformation of their countryside and local economies.

These opportunities are not theoretical, they are already taking place. Restoration projects such as those in southern Europe, and “Reforestation in Kenya via ‘Made In Africa’ AI”, which we recently reported upon, demonstrate that investing in land management gives rise to real solutions to global challenges.

Effective measures for combating desertification

Despite the magnitude of the problem, there are many measures we can take to reduce desertification:

Reforestation and regeneration of tree species: tree planting helps stabilize the soil and restore vegetational cover
Improving water management: includes measures such as savings, re-use of treated sewage water, rainwater storage, desalination and, in specific cases, seawater irrigation of salt-tolerant plants
Soil maintenance: use of barriers to stop dunes advancing and protect trees from wind erosion
Soil enrichment: regenerative fertilization of vegetational cover
Cultivation of native species: selective pruning, along with the use of plant waste as fertilizer, contributes to stimulating the growth of new branches and improves the capacity of the soil to retain water.

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is for remembering that restoring land is much more than an environmental solution, it is an investment with real economic returns. According to UNCCD, land restoration investments can generate important economic benefits, with up to 30 dollars of benefits for each dollar invested. And involving young people in the transformation of the food system and land restoration could help to create 600 million much-needed jobs by 2030.

Through the implementation of these strategies and greater global awareness, we can advance toward a future where desertification is no longer a latent threat, but an opportunity to regenerate the countryside, economies and communities.

Sources:

https://www.unccd.int/events/other/desertification-and-drought-day-2024-global-observance
https://elpais.com/clima-y-medio-ambiente/2024-02-29/un-pequeno-ejercito-de-500-agricultores-y-activistas-combate-la-desertificacion-del-sudeste-peninsular.html