The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened on Monday in Riyadh, calling for global efforts to restore land and boost resilience to drought. Running until December 13 under the theme of “Our Land. Our Future.”, the event marks a milestone as the largest UN land-focused conference to date and the first UNCCD COP to take place in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In his opening address, Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, emphasized the critical importance of land restoration. He described it as “one of the most effective tools to address some of the greatest challenges of our time—climate change, food insecurity, economic inequality, forced migration, and even global instability.”
Thiaw highlighted that by 2050, up to 7.5 billion people will feel the impact of drought, urging immediate global action. “Together, we can reverse the trends of land degradation and build a more resilient world to drought,” he stressed.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, noted that more than 3 billion people are impacted by land degradation each year due to the loss of 100 million hectares of land, forests, and grasslands. “This will increase levels of migration, stability, and security among many communities,” he warned.
During COP16, which also marks the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, delegates are expected to decide on collective actions to accelerate land restoration efforts. Key objectives include enhancing resilience to droughts and sandstorms, restoring soil health, and scaling up nature-positive food production by 2030 and beyond.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
