The 2009 World Day to Combat Desertification focuses on the theme: Conserving land and water = Securing our common future.
For much of the previous century and particularly since the end of the Cold War, the world has been undergoing a paradigm shift that sees security expanding beyond the notion of protecting sovereign nations from hostile acts. Security now is a more encompassing notion of assuring people the freedom from want and it recognizes sustainable development as part of this process.
Desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) threaten this human security by depriving people of their means of life