June 17th is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. UN Secretary General Guterres delivered a video speech on the same day, calling on the international community to jointly address desertification and drought. Guterres said, "We are destroying the planet that nurtures us. Every second, about four football fields of healthy land are degrading. The safety, prosperity, and health of billions of people depend on fertile land that supports life, livelihoods, and ecosystems.". Governments, businesses, academia, communities, and others around the world must unite and take action to sow the seeds for the future of natural and human prosperity. Guterres said, "On the occasion of commemorating the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the international community must significantly accelerate the pace of implementation." He called on countries to create a good atmosphere for the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to ensure that the opinions of young people are heard in negotiations. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was adopted in 1994 with the aim of assisting countries and regions affected by severe drought or desertification in combating desertification. Currently, there are 197 contracting parties to the Convention, and China joined it in 1996. In 2015, the United Nations included desertification prevention and control in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proposing the goal of achieving zero growth in global land degradation by 2030, forming a global consensus on desertification prevention and control. The 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification will be held in Riyadh in December. (Lai Xin She)