Opinion: How to reduce drought disasters? Try better land management

By Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Disasters – from droughts and dust storms to hurricanes and floods – are becoming more frequent and more severe as our planet warms. They bring a high cost to human life, economies, and ecosystems. But how we deal with these disasters is not keeping pace.

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The statistics tell us that we must act with urgency.

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But changing our relationship with the land can rewrite this narrative.

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In short, properly managing and restoring land wouldn’t just mitigate the effects of drought or sand and dust storms: it would bring benefits across the global development targets known as the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The decisions taken last month are a good start, but we must rapidly accelerate – and implement – these types of promises. Governments cannot do it alone. I urge you to consider what you can do to support changes that can minimise future disasters for the benefit of people, the economy, and the planet.