Accra, June 17, GNA- The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday marked the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought with a call on all to renew their commitment to reversing land degradation and desertification.

The theme for this year's celebration, "Combating Land Degradation for Sustainable Agriculture" is drawing attention to the importance of land as a global heritage which no human being can live without. A statement issued in Accra on behalf Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General, said land degradation affected a significant portion of the earth's arable land which directly impacted on the well-being of people and the economic development of countries. "It causes agricultural economic loses, disorganises local and regional food markets, and causes social and political instability," it added. The statement noted that as population grew, the demand for agriculture production and traditional system of land management collapsed and the adoption of new practices, which were often monoculture made it worse. It said the UN Convention to Combat Desertification was the sole international legal framework to reclaim dry and degraded land and also offer long term solution to producing more food for the people. The statement also called on the international community to recognise that dry and marginal lands were not waste lands but rather potential areas for agricultural intensification for both food and energy needs and also support the 10-year strategy adopted last year in Madrid to help combat desertification.