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The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed on:
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Answer: Option B — 17 June
Detailed Solution
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (also called Desertification and Drought Day) is observed every year on 17 June.
About the day:
- In 1994, the UN General Assembly declared 17 June as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
- The date marks the adoption of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Paris on 17 June 1994.
- It was first observed in 1995.
- It aims to raise awareness of land degradation and drought and to promote land restoration and sustainable land management.
About the UNCCD:
- It is one of the three "Rio Conventions", along with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which came out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
- It came into force in 1996, and its secretariat is in Bonn, Germany.
- It is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
What is desertification:
- It is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, caused mainly by human activities (such as overgrazing, deforestation, poor irrigation and unsustainable farming) and climate variations.
- It does not mean the spreading of existing deserts but the loss of land productivity.
India and desertification:
- India became a party to the UNCCD in 1996.
- According to ISRO's Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas, about one-third of India's land area is undergoing land degradation.
- India hosted the 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) of the UNCCD at Greater Noida in September 2019.
- At COP14, India raised its target to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Other related days:
- World Water Day: 22 March.
- World Environment Day: 5 June.
- World Food Day: 16 October.
- World Soil Day: 5 December.
Why not the other options?
- ✗22 March is World Water Day.
- ✗5 June is World Environment Day.
- ✗16 October is World Food Day.
Quick tip
Remember: Desertification and Drought Day = 17 June (UNCCD adopted 17 June 1994; secretariat Bonn); India hosted COP14 at Greater Noida (2019); target 26 million hectares by 2030.
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Important Days & Dates — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Important Days & Dates, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers national and international days observed through the year, such as National Youth Day, World Environment Day and International Yoga Day, along with the themes announced for them and the events or people they commemorate. Questions ask for the date of a day, the day observed on a given date, or the person it honours (for example, National Sports Day on 29 August marks the birthday of Major Dhyan Chand). Revise days month by month in a calendar format. Themes change every year, so learn the current year's themes from current affairs. Practise the important days questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.