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World day against desertification and drought

World day against desertification and drought

The "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" proclaimed by the United Nations with a 1995 resolution is celebrated every year on 17 June.

The proposed topic for 2023 is "Her Land. Her Rights". The UNCCD strongly urges greater access to rights to the land that women very often cultivate but often they do not have sufficient rights to own it or in any case manage it and are often the first victims of desertification.

The attention towards the role of women in the direct management of the soil of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) has grown considerably in recent years, with the adoption in 2017 of a Gender Action Plan, first, and then with actions aimed at supporting national governments to adopt appropriate tools to promote gender equality and access to rights.

  • World day against desertification and drought
  • 2023-06-17T00:00:00+02:00
  • 2023-06-17T23:59:59+02:00
  • The "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" proclaimed by the United Nations with a 1995 resolution is celebrated every year on 17 June. The proposed topic for 2023 is " Her Land. Her Rights" . The UNCCD strongly urges greater access to rights to the land that women very often cultivate but often they do not have sufficient rights to own it or in any case manage it and are often the first victims of desertification. The attention towards the role of women in the direct management of the soil of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) has grown considerably in recent years, with the adoption in 2017 of a Gender Action Plan, first, and then with actions aimed at supporting national governments to adopt appropriate tools to promote gender equality and access to rights.
  • When Jun 17, 2023 (Europe/Berlin / UTC200)
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The global celebration takes place on Friday 16 June at the United Nations General Assembly Hall where the event “Her Land. Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals” is jointly organized by UNCCD, UN Women, FAO, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNDP.


As highlighted by the UNCCD study “The differential impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought on women and men”, gender equality remains an unfinished business in every part of the world.

For example:
• nearly half of the global agricultural workforce is female, yet less than one in five landowners in the world are female.
• Women's right to inherit their husband's property continues to be denied in more than 100 countries on the basis of customary, religious or traditional law and practice.
• globally, women already spend a total of 200 million hours a day collecting water. In some countries, a single trip to fetch water can take over an hour.

With the hashtag #HerLand we are all invited to contribute to the campaign launched by the UNCCD.

Italy is among the countries affected by desertification, a growing phenomenon in various European areas, under the combined effects of climate change and unsustainable soil management.

This situation prompted the European Commission to issue the European Soil Strategy to 2030 in November 2022, in view of a Soil Health Law under preparation, where such processes are clearly considered as priorities.

Even in Italy, where fundamental rights are nonetheless recognized and protected by the Constitution, it is necessary to continue to strengthen the presence of women in the sectors of scientific knowledge, which is essential to guarantee sustainable and fair management of natural resources, and in particular of the soil, and to ensure adequate participation in decision-making processes at all levels.