International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms

Climate change, including changes in temperature and precipitation levels , is altering SDS hazard levels and increasing associated risks. The hazards posed by SDS and climate change particularly affect people who directly depend on natural resources for their livelihoods, such as those who practice rainfed agriculture, pastoral farming and dryland forestry. These groups of people are more vulnerable to intensified climate variability and extreme events such as floods, droughts and storms that are likely to become more frequent, more widespread or more intense due to climate change.

Agriculture is one of the drivers of roughly 25 percent of global dust emissions caused by human activities. Sand and dust storms also have numerous direct negative impacts on agriculture, resulting in the loss of crops, trees and livestock, or significant decreases in their production. While agriculture is a driver of SDS, it can also be part of the solution, combating SDS risks and mitigating their impacts through the implementation of resilient and sustainable agricultural practices . Sand and dust storms should be addressed as part of the strategies for national multi-hazard disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management, linked to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Efforts are growing to support SDS affected countries through mitigating SDS sources and the impacts on agriculture . These efforts include promoting sustainable land and water management, integrated land use planning, forest and landscape restoration, agroforestry, shelter belts,...

The Guideline aims to raise awareness on development challenges related to sand and dust storm (SDS) risk, vulnerability, and exposure that are often not fully appreciated or considered by policy makers. In addition to greater political attention, it underscores the need for assessments and actionable data to address SDS hazards more effectively . The guideline is informed by scientific, technical, and evidence-based knowledge resources that have been produced by the UNCCD, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and members of the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms as well as other partners and experts from around the world. The Guideline is voluntary and can be used by regional, national, and sub-national authorities and actors responsible for designing and implementing SDS-related initiatives in key policy areas (e.g., agriculture, human health, infrastructure). It builds upon the UNCCD Policy Advocacy Framework for Sand and Dust...