It goes without saying that humans are completely dependent on landscapes for every resource. However, climate change, overuse and conversion for agriculture, cities and infrastructure mean that one fifth of the planet’s land area is degraded. This damage, which also drives drought and desertification, harms the livelihoods of almost half the planet’s population. UN observes June 17 as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought to commemorate the work put in by countries in the field of sustainable land management.

Restoring degraded land brings economic resilience, creates jobs, raises incomes and increases food security. It helps biodiversity to recover. It locks away the atmospheric carbon warming the Earth, slowing climate change. It can also lessen the impacts of climate change and underpin a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We build back better with healthy land. So far, the world's largest economies have already spent USD 16 trillion in post-covid recovery efforts and in Africa a land-centred approach to COVID-19 recovery can shift the continent’s economies to a sustainability trajectory,” said Mamadou Diakhite, Acting Head Environmental Sustainability at AUDA-NEPAD.

Within the continent there are two African-led restoration initiatives by the African Union and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, the Great Green Wall and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100). The Great Green Wall is a symbol of hope in the face of desertification. It provides a refreshing story of resilience, optimism and collective action. Imagine if we could restore a piece of land 3 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef! The Great Green Wall, is growing an 8,000KM natural ‘Wonder of the World ‘ across the entire width of Africa.

“As African countries look for best pathways to build more durable, inclusive and resilient economies, Initiatives such as the Sahel and Sahara Great Green Wall as well as the AFR100 Partnership provide a unique and timely opportunity to stress the need that our lives and livelihoods are built on healthy landscapes,” said Ambassador Amadou Diallo, Principal Programme Officer for AUDA-NEPAD, West Africa Regional Office, and AUDA-NEPAD Focal Point for the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI).

Launched in 2015 at the UN climate conference in Paris (COP21), AFR100 is a Pan-African initiative to bring 100 million hectares of land in Africa into restoration by 2030 led by AUDA-NEPAD. The initiative facilitates coordination, knowledge sharing and investment toward restoring land across the continent, guided by African stakeholders — from community leaders and smallholder farmers, to government representatives at all levels and investors.

The 2021 Desertification and Drought Day will focus on turning degraded land into healthy land.