Leaders meet in Madrid to mark world day to fight drought
Politicians and experts are meeting in Madrid to mark World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Politicians and experts are meeting in Madrid on Friday to discuss ways to tackle drought and the increasing spread of deserts across the globe.
The half-day meeting to mark the United Nations’ World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought will be attended by Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is to give an opening speech and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres will address the conference by video.
The meeting will bring together numerous experts, including Kenya’s Patricia Kombo, founder of the PaTree Initiative to help Kenya achieve 10% forest cover by getting students to plant trees.
The UNCCD says that between 1900 and 2019, droughts have impacted 2.7 billion people in the world, and caused 11.7 million deaths. Forecasts estimate that by 2050 droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population.
Spain’s Ecological Transition ministry says 75 percent of Spanish land is vulnerable to desertification and this is increasing.
The meeting comes as Spain is suffering an unusually early heat wave that has helped fuel wildfires across the country.
The focus of the meeting will be on encouraging early action to prevent disastrous outcomes.
“Droughts have been part of human and natural systems, but what we are experiencing now is much worse, largely due to human activity,” Thiaw said in a statement.
“Recent droughts point at a precarious future for the world. Food and water shortages as well as wildfires caused by the severe drought have all intensified in recent years.”