Today, June 17, is the World Day for the Fight against Desertification launched by the United Nations to commemorate the adoption of the international convention, the twenty-fifth anniversary of which is this year. The Day is an opportunity to analyze the actions promoted under the Convention and to enhance the progress achieved by the 197 countries that have ratified it in the field of sustainable land management and of the soil, looking to the next 25 years and to the objective of achieving the neutrality of land degradation.
This is a commitment that must concern us all, because a territory and a soil in good health are essential for guarantee food and water, contributing to mitigation and adaptation to climate change, hosting animal and tree species in balance and prosperous, and in the most disadvantaged areas of the planet are crucial for moving towards poverty reduction. Incredible as it may seem, Italy is a country affected by desertification. The role of hunters is once again essential in the safeguarding of natural habitats, in the protection of wooded and humid areas and in the restoration and maintenance of those marginal areas more easily subject to abandonment and subsequent soil degradation.
A commitment that has also seen us as protagonists at an international level. Hunting Federation in fact, in 2017 it joined the European Citizens' campaign "People4Soil", together with 500 other hunting, agricultural, environmental and other organizations from all over Europe, contributing to the collection of signatures to urge the European Community to stop land consumption by developing a binding legislative framework for the Member States, aimed at recognizing the status of a "common good" on the ground just like air and water. A responsibility that we feel part of and a commitment that we are proud of and that we renew every day, a protection of that environment of which we consider ourselves useful and precious guardians.