COP16 Begins In Saudi Arabia To Address Urgent Global Challenges Of Land Degradation And Drought Resilience

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is hosting its largest meeting in Riyadh, focusing on land degradation, drought, and desertification. This significant event aims to boost global efforts in land restoration and drought resilience. From December 2 to 13, the conference will feature high-profile summits and dialogues addressing these urgent issues.

Saudi Arabia's UNCCD Presidency will introduce the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Initiative on December 2. This initiative aims to enhance international cooperation on drought resilience, promoting a more unified and proactive approach worldwide. The focus on strengthening global drought resilience is central to COP16's agenda.

The One Water Summit will occur in Riyadh on December 3, addressing global water scarcity challenges. Announced during COP28 with Saudi Arabia's collaboration, this summit seeks to improve global water governance. Notable participants include French President Emmanuel Macron, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and World Bank President Ajay Banga.

In parallel, the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Forum will take place from December 2-3. It will gather policymakers, business leaders, and experts worldwide at the SGI Pavilion in the COP16 Green Zone. Discussions will focus on SGI's energy and environmental progress, sharing best practices and future projections.

The Second International Forum on Greening Technologies is scheduled for December 6-8 in the Green Zone. This forum will host numerous sessions exploring solutions and innovations from global greening projects. It aims to showcase scientific research related to restoration projects worldwide.

"This is a critical moment to address land degradation, drought and desertification," stated Dr. Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment and Advisor to the UNCCD COP16 Presidency. "For too long, these devastating global crises have not received the attention they deserve internationally."

Strengthening the Action Agenda

Saudi Arabia's COP16 Presidency plans to enhance the Action Agenda by motivating governments and non-state actors to support initiatives addressing land degradation and drought. The presidency aims to collaborate with initiative champions over two years to strengthen their synergies.

Nigel Topping highlighted that "The Action Agenda under COP16 sets out an ambitious vision." It seeks to engage non-state actors like businesses, farmers, cities, financial institutions, civil society, and indigenous people in practical solutions towards UNCCD goals.

COP16 marks the first UNCCD conference held in the Middle East region and features a Green Zone. It's also Saudi Arabia's largest multilateral conference hosted so far. According to UNCCD data, land degradation affects nearly 40% of Earth’s surface and impacts over 3.2 billion people globally.

Annually, around 100 million hectares of land face degradation while drought frequency has risen by nearly a third since 2000.

With inputs from SPA