He Day of Struggle against Desertification and the Drought It is a date that was established by the UN and is commemorated every June 17 with the purpose of raising awareness of the importance for human beings and the planet of addressing and providing solutions to the problems of desertification and drought.
The desertification It is the result of permanent soil degradation, caused by constant deforestation of forests, salinization, lack of water and an overexploitation of aquifers, which is generally produced by the different economic activities carried out by man in different parts of the world.
On the other hand, the drought It represents a transient anomaly, more or less prolonged, characterized by a period of time with values of the precipitation lower than normal in the area. The initial cause of all drought is the shortage of precipitation (drought meteorological) which results in an insufficiency of water resources (drought hydrological) necessary to supply the existing demand.
The data of the UN indicate that the number and duration of the droughts increased by 29% since 2000 and, today, more than 2.3 billion people already suffer from problems due to shortages of waterso no country is immune to drought.
Besides, UNICEF warns that “one in four children in the world will be affected by this phenomenon between now and 2040″, a “worrying” fact, especially for girls, one of the groups “most vulnerable to the impacts of desertification and the drought“.
This year, the Day International against Desertification Its motto is “Overcoming the challenges together.” droughts“, a maxim that places special emphasis on early action to avoid disastrous consequences for humanity and ecosystems.
