Origins of the Decade
Building on the successful celebration of the International Year of Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification (IYDD) in 2006, the United Nations General Assembly, by its resolution A/RES/62/195 of 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 to 2020 the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification (UNDDD). The Assembly acknowledged the persistence of desertification, despite past and on-going global efforts, and a slow response to poverty eradication among drylands populations, and declared the Decade a period for concerted global action.
During the Decade, all actors are called upon to raise awareness about desertification, land degradation and drought and their solutions. The Decade campaign is intended to reinforce the implementation of the ten- year strategy for 2008-2018, on the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. At the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General will report on progress made to implement the resolution.
