Happy Monday 👋

Did you know that EVERY SECOND the equivalent of 4 football pitches of healthy land become degraded?

And that makes about 100 million hectares every year…

Let’s join the fight for our land and combat desertification and drought together!

Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:

• How to save our natural lands from desertification and drought 🏜️
• The study that proves conservation efforts are working 🪺
• The only wild horse species in the world is returned to its native lands 🐎
• And more… 💚

🏜️ Event of the Week: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

👉 Did you know that today (June 17) is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought? This awareness event was founded to raise awareness of desertification, land degradation, and drought in the wake of the climate crisis. 

1️⃣ The big picture: The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought was founded in 1994 by the General Assembly, alongside the establishment of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It was set up to mobilize global action to fight land degradation caused by climate change and develop sustainable land management practices. Since 2017, the UNCCD and their partners have supported over 70 drought-prone countries to develop national action plans to reduce drought disasters. During the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought organizations and communities raise awareness of desertification through events and campaigns to improve the state of our natural lands. 

2️⃣ Why is this important: Every second, the equivalent of 4 football pitches of healthy land become degraded, totaling 100 million hectares every year. Labeled as the silent killer, drought causes fertile soil to be swallowed up by desert conditions, often in areas where people are already starving. In fact, it’s estimated that 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity and ⅔ of people around the world will be living under water-stressed conditions in 2025. Furthermore, the restoration of degraded land is vital in the fight against climate change because soils of degraded ecosystems can store up to 3 billion tons of carbon every year. 

3️⃣ How can you get involved: One of the best ways to get involved in World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is to organize a community awareness event. You can also add your event to the United Nations virtual map of world events and download campaign materials from their website. In addition, you can consider volunteering with a local organization to restore degraded land or spread awareness through your social media channels.

You can also consider donating to one or more charities that are working to conserve the planet’s natural lands:

• 9 Best Charities for Land Conservation
• 9 Best Charities for Reforestation
• 9 Best Charities for Climate Change
• 11 Best Charities for Planting Trees

If you are looking for more inspiration, you can find a wider range of charitable causes to support in our charity support blog.

📢 Three Good News

🪺 New study finds that conservation efforts are making a positive impact:

• According to a new study published in the journal Science, conservation initiatives around the world are saving species from extinction, reversing biodiversity loss, and slowing climate change. 
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), over 44,000 species are threatened with extinction globally, including 41% of amphibians, 25% of mammals, and 36% of reef-building corals. 
• Researchers analyzed hundreds of conservation projects and found that interventions, such as establishing protected areas, boosted biodiversity or slowed its decline compared with no action at all.

☀️ A Spanish city is turning its cemeteries into the country’s largest urban solar farm:

• Valencia, on the east coast of Spain, has implemented plans to install thousands of solar panels in graveyards across the city as part of the wider Valencia 2030 Climate Mission. 
• Cemeteries are ideal candidates for solar projects because they can be harnessed for the production of clean energy without changing their original purpose.
• Dubbed the Requiem of Power (RIP), the project aims to install 6,658 solar panels in local cemeteries, with 810 already being laid down in Grau, Campanar, and Benimàmet cemeteries. The scheme will generate over 440,000 kilowatts in total.

🐎 The only wild horse species in the world is being reintroduced to their native Kazakhstan:

• A group of 7 Przewalski horses, the world’s last wild horse species, have been flown to Kazakhstan from zoos across Europe to restore wild populations in the country.
• These wild horses once roamed the vast steppe grasslands in Central Asia where horses were first thought to be domesticated around 5,500 years ago. However, they haven’t been seen in the country for over 200 years.
• The 7 horses, comprising 4 mares from Berlin, as well as a stallion and 2 mares from Prague were released as part of a larger initiative to release 40 horses over the next 5 years. 

🤝 Three More Important Awareness Events

🐊 June 17, World Crocodile Day:

• World Crocodile Day educates people on the qualities and issues that face crocodiles.
• You can spend the day learning about different species of crocodiles. 

💜 June 18, Autistic Pride Day:

• Autistic Pride Day celebrates the achievements and qualities of those on the Autism spectrum. 
• The day advocates for accommodations for those with Autism so that they can have equal opportunities to be their best selves. 

🐑 June 17-23, Animal Rights Awareness Week:

• Animal Rights Awareness Week memorializes all the animals that have been killed around the world due to human intervention. 
• The week also advocates for stronger animal rights when it comes to animal testing, the meat and dairy industry, and habitat sovereignty. 

Related: You can discover all the 119 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for June 2024!

📜 These Days in History

🇮🇸 June 17, 1944: Iceland formally declared itself an independent republic. That same day, the United States recognized Iceland in public statements of congratulation by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

⛪ June 18, 2006: Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US, becoming the first woman chosen as a church-wide leader in the 400-year history of the Anglican Communion. 

🚀 June 18, 1983: Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, beginning a 6-day mission aboard the Challenger space shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

💭 Quote of the Day

“Power, as human beings exercise power, to me means the ability to change: the ability to change oneself, the ability to change one’s community. And the positive use of power is transformation of self and community toward a higher ideal, toward a healed world.”

— Katharine Jefferts Schori, American religious leader

Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society together!

Stay impactful 💚