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Grace Mahora Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe will tomorrow join the rest of the world in commemorating Desertification and Drought Day which is running under the theme, “Rising Up from Drought Together.”

The day is commemorated annually on June 17 as part of efforts to promote public awareness of international and local efforts to combat desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) in line with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to which Zimbabwe is a party.

This year’s celebrations will be held at Makaha Secondary School in Mudzi, Mashonaland East.

In a statement Environmental Management Agency, (EMA), environment education and publicity manager Ms Amkela Sidange said this year‘s theme was an alert to everyone to be included in the fight against drought.

She said drought remained one of the most destructive natural disasters.

“Drought is one of the most destructive natural disasters in terms of loss of life arising from impacts, such as wide-scale crop failure, veld fires, loss of livestock due to poverty death; and water stress and shocks. This is exacerbated by land degradation and climate change.”

“The situation is made worse through climate change and land degradation largely caused by human activities leading to droughts,” added Sidange.

The UNCCD is calling on countries to increase commitment to pursue effective policies on drought, improve and implement national drought plans and improve drought management through active participation of relevant sectors and stakeholders, local communities, women, youth, civil society and the private sector.

Zimbabwe is working towards achieving this through climate-proof agricultural programmes premised on public awareness and capacity building, among other several initiatives.

In line with aspirations of the blueprint NDS1 conformity to the decade of ecosystem restoration from 2020 to 2030, the focus is on land restoration projects and programmes being implemented by various communities, businesses, institutions, civil society, academia and governments in sustainable land management.