Despite various initiatives taken by the Centre, including soil and water management activities, 32.75 per cent of the country's geographical land is still affected by various forms of land degradation or desertification. Official figures reveal that 107.43 million hectares of land in India is affected by desertification. Global figures show that these dry lands are inhabited by approximately 2 billion people, who account for nearly 40 per cent of the world's population, with Asia being the worst affected. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification, to which India is also a signatory, has given this year's theme on World Day to Combat Desertification as "Combating Land Degradation for Sustainable Agriculture". Experts say such a huge amount of land has no productive value because of unsustainable agricultural patterns along with water management practices.