By Yemi Olakitan
Saudi Arabia will host World Environment Day with an emphasis on regenerating the land, combating desertification, and coping with drought.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would host the World Environment Day in 2024 with a focus on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.
The United Nations General Assembly declared June 5 to be World Environment Day in 1972.
The Day has expanded over the past 50 years to become one of the biggest international platforms for environmental advocacy.
Millions of individuals take part in worldwide activities, events, and actions both offline and online.
Up to 40% of the planet’s land is degraded, according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, directly harming 50% of the world’s population and posing a threat to about 50% of the global GDP (US$44 trillion).
Without immediate action, droughts may affect more than three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050 due to the 29% rise in the number and length of droughts since 2000.
A crucial component of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), which is a global call to action for the preservation and revitalization of ecosystems and is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, is land restoration.
30 years have passed since the UN Convention to Combat Desertification was first adopted.
From December 2 to December 13, 2024, the Saudi city of Riyadh will host the sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The main UN platform for promoting environmental awareness and action on a global scale is World Environment Day.
Since its inception in 1973, the Day has become an important forum for advancing the environmental goals of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each year, more than 150 nations take part, with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) serving as the coordinator.
The World Environment Day brand is used by major businesses, non-governmental organisations, communities, governments, and celebrities from around the world to support environmental problems.
The major voice on the environment in the world is UNEP. It offers leadership and promotes collaboration in protecting the environment by motivating, educating, and empowering countries and people to raise their standard of living without compromising that of the next generation.