World Environment Day, marked annually on 5 June, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.  With the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the helm, over 150 countries participate each year. The theme of 2024 World Environment Day is “land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience”, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host World Environment Day 2024.

Land restoration is a key pillar of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, which is critical to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations shared messages on World Environment Day 2024. “Countries must deliver on all their commitments to restore degraded ecosystems and land, and on the entire Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We are Generation Restoration. Together, let's build a sustainable future for land, and for humanity.”

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction emphasized the DRR actions for all types of disasters. In the newly hazard classification launched by ISC and UNDRR, there are 24 specific hazards in the cluster of Environmental-related Hazards. The key indicators and UN actions of desertification are provided in this report. 

Meanwhile, the issues of drought are the critical areas of research and actions in DRR. We have observed the increased frequency and the cascading impacts of drought due to climate change and also the poor management of land use. 

IRDR has been endeavored to mobilize science and technology toward the inclusive, safe and sustainable development for all. International research on the environment safety has been in the process with the new form of cooperation “IRDR Work Stream”. IRDR calls for global attention on this important issue and global partnership.