In case you didn’t know, yesterday was World Day to Combat Desertification. Every June 17 since 1995, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has celebrated this day to highlight the efforts being made to ensure sustainable land management and to raise awareness about one of our most precious natural resources: fertile soil.

This year’s slogan is “Healthy Soil Sustains Your Life: Let’s Go Land-Degradation Neutral.”

Desertification is the degradation of previously productive land and is generally caused by drought and human activities, especially poor agricultural practices. Along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, desertification was identified as one of the greatest hurdles to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

Each year, about 30 million acres of land, an area roughly three times the size of Switzerland, is lost to desert. The increasing loss of fertile land has serious implications for food security, alleviating rural poverty and hunger, and building resistance to various environmental challenges. Globally, about 1.5 billion people are currently affected by this problem.

Take a moment to recognize the importance of maintaining fertile soil and learn how you can do your part by going here.

Also on Sustainable Friends:

American Farmland Trust

A Wilderness Perspective

Rio+20: A Waste of Time?

Earth Policy Institute

Happy World Oceans Day!