The Conference of the parties, meeting in Riyadh this year, aims to fight the growing desert…
Really.
Desertification is a fast moving process that can turn a marginal region into a total desert that is unfit for human habitation…
Yet there are people who are hopeful that we can fight this global phenomenon — if we are to scale up and speed up land restoration and usher in a new era of global cooperation on drought resilience for non arable and arable lands, as the Riyadh conference of the United Nations attempted to do.
As the first UNCCD COP to be held in the Middle East and North Africa region, this landmark event is the largest and most ambitious summit on land and drought resilience.
Currently, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, directly impacting 3.2 billion people. Additionally, droughts have increased in frequency and intensity by 29 per cent since 2000, and by 2050, three-quarters of the global population could be affected by drought.
In a year of high-level environmental negotiations, with crucial meetings in Cali, Baku and Riyadh, advancing global efforts to combat land degradation, desertification and drought, and promote sustainable development.
Under the theme “Our Land. Our Future,” the conference will convene 197 Parties (196 countries and the European Union), experts, academics, governance and civil society — all promote urgent action.
Desertification, land loss and water scarcity have a human face.
Indeed it is the face of the persons who belong to the most impacted, vulnerable, and defenseless communities who expect the action and commitment to sustained activism and decision making on collective actions to:
- Accelerate restoration of degraded land by 2030 and beyond
- Boost resilience to intensifying droughts and sand and dust storms
- Restore soil health and scale up nature-positive food production
- Secure land rights and promote equity for sustainable land stewardship
- Ensure that land continues to provide climate and biodiversity solutions
- Unlock economic opportunities, including decent land-based jobs for youth
Drought, intensified by climate change and unsustainable land practices, has surged by nearly 30 per cent in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening agriculture, water security, and the livelihoods of more than 3 billion people, with the poorest nations bearing the brunt.
In his opening remarks, Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, said: “We are all gathered here to make COP16 a historic moment. The world expects Parties to adopt a bold decision that can help turn the tide on the most pervasive and the most disruptive environmental disaster: drought.”
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed emphasized the growing challenges posed by land degradation and drought: “Never before have so many people been affected by land degradation and drought.”
“A stunning 40 per cent of fertile land around the world, is now degraded.”
“And the results are dire: rising inequalities, people hungry, people displaced. Livelihoods and businesses threatened, environments destroyed, and the foundation of peace, stability and security rocked. On the basis of current trends, by 2050, three in four people, will be affected by drought worldwide. But you are in Riyadh to turn the tide.”
Newly elected COP16 President Abdulrahman Alfadley, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, echoed these concerns, noting that degraded land already affects three billion people globally and will “increase levels of migration, stability, and insecurity among many communities.”
COP16 focus on establishing the first global regime for drought resilience, addressing the systemic risks of drought highlighted in multiple articles of the UNCCD and decisions from the past seven Conference of the Parties in desertification.
Yet, all the assembled governments expected to negotiate commitments to enhance resilience at all levels, by building on recommendations from the Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought established at COP15 — failed the world at their mission… expect the host Saudi Arabia who announced today that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as UNCCD COP16 host, will leverage public and private finance to support 80 of the most vulnerable and drought-hit countries around the world.
An initial US $2.15 billion have been pledged towards the Riyadh Partnership by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (US$150 million), the Islamic Development Bank (US$1 billion) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (US$1 billion). The Arab Coordination Group, which encompasses 10 institutions headquartered in five countries, is expected announce its pledge on day two of COP16.
“The Riyadh Drought Resilience Partnership will serve as a global facilitator for drought resilience, promoting the shift from reactive relief response to proactive preparedness. We also seek to amplify global resources to save lives and livelihoods around the world,” said Dr Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudia Arabia and Advisor to the UNCCD COP16 Presidency.
The Partnership will work to source additional funding through voluntary contributions by countries, financial institutions, and philanthropic organizations, among others. The financial and in-kind contributions help least developed countries (LDCs) and lower middle-income countries to unlock access to additional financing through blended financing such as concessional loans, commercial loans, equity participation, savings, insurance and other financial schemes.
State Secretary of Environment of Spain Hugo Morán, said: “For Spain and Senegal, the co-chairs the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), promoting international cooperation is a key priority. We are working very hard to mobilize political momentum and resources for drought resilience all over the world. However, much remains to be done. This is why we welcome the Riyadh Partnership and its potential to mobilize additional resources for drought resilience with a focus on the least developed countries and the lower middle-income countries. We look forward to collaborating with Saudi Arabia and the UNCCD Secretariat to leverage synergies between IDRA and this new partnership.”
A major focus of COP16 will be negotiations on a future global regime on drought resilience, the first of its kind. Multiple articles of the Convention text refer to drought and the last seven UNCCD COPs also have decisions related to drought.
The Drought Resilience + 10 Conference, held in Geneva from 30 September to 2 October 2024, concluded that “the increasingly systemic nature of drought requires new approaches, policy instruments and the operationalization of national drought plans along the lines of proactive and integrated drought management.”
It is expected that the negotiations among governments, culminating at UNCCD COP16, will result in robust commitments to strengthen community, national and international resilience to anticipate, respond to and recover from the impacts of impending or ongoing droughts, building on the policy options presented by the Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought established at COP 15.
“After 30 years of deliberations, including six consecutive years of intergovernmental working groups, all eyes are on us. This is a lot of pressure, but we must seize this pivotal moment in Riyadh. Together, we can reverse the trends of land degradation and build a more resilient world to drought,” said UNCCD’s Thiaw.
Amid escalating global drought crises, the UNCCD, in collaboration with the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and partners, launched the World Drought Atlas, highlighting the systemic risks of drought across critical sectors like energy, agriculture, river transport and trade, using maps, infographics and case studies to showcase its cascading impacts on inequality, conflict and public health.
In addition, the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) introduced the prototype International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO) — an AI-powered global platform designed to empower diverse stakeholders, from policymakers to communities, with actionable insights for building drought resilience. The full version of IDRO will debut at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia in 2026, marking a shift towards proactive drought management worldwide.
Anna Dyson, Founding Director of Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture, explained: “Although a wealth of knowledge is emerging on drought resilience globally, it tends to be scattered and difficult to access. The Observatory will enable quick access to diverse expertise and tools needed to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to drought challenges. Connecting insights with powerful analytics, it delivers timely, actionable information while addressing critical gaps in risk and adaptive strategies.
Yours,
Dr Pano Churchill
PS:
The observance of the Riyadh summit has been an honor and a distinct pain, because as the head of the global Environmental Parliament — I feel deeply the loss of life that desertification means for humans and all other species living in the green skin of our planet that has been under assault for the past three hundred years….