Turyakira Fred Kabango
In less than a week, global attention will focus on land and drought resilience as the 16th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2 to 13 December 2024.
As the first UNCCD COP to be held in the Middle East and North Africa region, this landmark event will be the largest and most ambitious summit on land and drought resilience, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of UNCCD, one of three Rio Conventions alongside climate and biodiversity.
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 all three Rio Conventions holding crucial meetings between October and December in Cali, Baku and Riyadh, UNCCD COP16 will be a critical milestone in 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 and civil society to promote urgent action.
According to the UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, “Riyadh 2024 is expected to be a turning point, a game-changer for the global land and drought resilience agenda. After many years of discussions and negotiations, countries are expected to agree on how to tackle the critical issue of drought. In Riyadh, Parties are also expected to move from pledges to concrete implementation on land restoration. Finally, COP16 will help us understand that land loss and water scarcity have a human face. The most vulnerable communities expect concrete results and bold decisions from this COP.”
At COP16, countries are expected to decide 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
Key facts by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), an international agreement on good land stewardship.
- Up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, affecting nearly half of humanity, with serious consequences for climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods
- We are degrading at least 100 million hectares of healthy, productive land each year
- Droughts have increased by 29 per cent since 2000, driven by climate change and poor land management. By 2050, three out of four people globally will be affected by drought
- Eighty-five percent of people affected by drought live in developing countries
- Drought, land degradation, and desertification disproportionately affect women, girls, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and vulnerable groups like people with disabilities
- To achieve a land-degradation-neutral world, restoring 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030 will be necessary if current trends continue
- Sustainable land management is key to building resilience against drought
- One billion young people live in developing regions dependent on land and natural resources. Achieving global land restoration commitments requires youth involvement
