Drought resilience features high on the agenda for the first day of the UN conference on land degradation, with the launch of the Riyadh Global Partnership for Drought Resilience
RIYADHSaudi Arabia, December 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — During the opening ceremony, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was officially elected President of the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16). The official recognition of the Saudi presidency of the COP16 of the UNCCD took place during the opening plenary session of the COP16 has Riyadmarking the start of a two-year mandate to spur international action on land restoration and drought resilience.
Policymakers, international organizations, businesses, NGOs and key stakeholders are meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to seek urgent international solutions to the pressing global crises of land degradation, drought and desertification. During the official opening of the conference, the president of the UNCCD COP16 and the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, welcomed the participants. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, welcomed the participants. In his opening remarks, he urged the international community to take decisive action as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification aims to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030.
“Saudi Arabia hopes to intensify international efforts during the COP16 of the CCD to address key environmental challenges and strengthen integration with other international environmental agreements, notably the Rio conventions on climate change and biodiversity, in order to achieve ambitious results that will enable a qualitative leap in land conservation, reduce land degradation and strengthen global capacities to combat drought.
“More than 100 million hectares of land are degraded each year, impacting more than 3 billion people and resulting in the loss of more than $6 trillion in ecosystem services, while driving food insecurity and water. This COP will be a historic moment to limit land degradation and drought in the world”, added Minister AlFadley on the site.
Taking place from December 2 to 13, the COP16 in Riyadh is the largest UNCCD COP ever organized. For the first time, a green zone has been created to mobilize multilateral action and help finance land restoration initiatives. Building drought resilience around the world is a central focus of the COP16 in Riyadh, with three major international announcements made on the first day alone. The Riyadh Global Partnership for Drought Resilience will help synergize and scale up international action on drought resilience and shift the global response from reactive crisis management to proactive prevention . Launched at the opening ceremony, the Riyadh Global Partnership for Drought Resilience received additional pledges of $1 billion from the OPEC Fund and $1 billion from of the Islamic Development Bank. This sum is in addition to the $150 million pledged by Saudi Arabia to finance the initiative. Meanwhile, the launch of the International Drought Resilience Observatory and the Global Drought Atlas will improve drought monitoring, prevention and awareness around the world.
During the opening ceremony, Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UNCCD paid tribute to Saudi Arabia's leadership on land degradation, saying: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its vision and leadership in elevating the global land restoration agenda. land and drought resilience, whether through the G20, the hosting of this historic COP and building its legacy, the Saudi Green Initiative, or, more recently, the Middle East Green Initiative .
On the eve of multilateral negotiations in Riyadh, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification has released a new report in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, highlighting the growing global emergency caused by desertification soils. Key findings highlight the damage caused by unsustainable agricultural practices, with agriculture responsible for 80% of deforestation and 70% of freshwater use, while 23% of greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse come from agriculture, forestry and land use. According to the latest UNCCD report, 46% of the world's land surface is classified as drylands.
About the COP16 de Riyad:
The UNCCD conference COP16 will be held from December 2 to 13, 2024 at Boulevard Riyadh World, Saudi Arabia. The conference, entitled “Our land. Our Future”, will mark the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD and aims to ensure multilateral action on critical issues such as drought resilience, land tenure and sand and dust storms.
For more information on the COP16 of the UNCCD, or to register your interest in participating, please visit UNCCDCOP16.org.
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