Saudi Arabia Assumes Presidency of UNCCD COP16 to Tackle Global Drought Challenges

Saudi Arabia Takes the Lead at COP16

On December 3, 2024, during a prestigious opening ceremony, Saudi Arabia was officially appointed as the President of the sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This significant event marks the beginning of a two-year term focused on enhancing international efforts regarding land restoration and drought resilience.

The inaugural day of COP16 in Riyadh brought together policymakers, international organizations, businesses, NGOs, and other essential stakeholders to address urgent global issues, including land degradation, drought, and desertification. In his opening speech, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, urged the global community to take decisive actions. He emphasized that the UNCCD aims to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030.

"Saudi Arabia is committed to intensifying international efforts at COP16 to tackle major environmental challenges. We seek to integrate our work with other international environmental accords, including the Rio conventions on climate change and biodiversity, to achieve ambitious results in land conservation, reducing soil degradation, and bolstering global drought response capacity," declared AlFadley.

Each year, over 100 million hectares of land are degraded, affecting more than 3 billion people and resulting in the loss of approximately $6 trillion in ecosystem services. Moreover, this crisis exacerbates food and water insecurity. AlFadley pointed out that COP16 represents a historic opportunity to mitigate soil degradation and drought on a global scale.

Running from December 2 to 13, 2024, COP16 is notably the largest UNCCD conference ever held. For the first time, a dedicated green zone has been established to mobilize multilateral action and finance initiatives aimed at land restoration. A central theme of COP16 includes enhancing worldwide drought resilience, with three significant international announcements made already on the first day.

The Riyadh Global Partnership for Drought Resilience was launched, designed to synergize and amplify international drought resilience initiatives, shifting the global response from reactive crisis management to proactive prevention. This partnership received additional promises of funding—including $1 billion from the OPEC Fund and another $1 billion from the Islamic Development Bank—on top of the $150 million pledged by Saudi Arabia to support the initiative. Furthermore, the International Drought Resilience Observatory and Global Drought Atlas were revealed to improve monitoring, prevention, and awareness of drought worldwide.

During the opening ceremony, Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UNCCD, acknowledged Saudi Arabia's leadership in combatting land degradation, expressing gratitude for the country’s foresight and commitment to enhancing the global land restoration and drought resilience agenda through initiatives like the G20, the historic COP, and the Saudi Green Initiative.

Ahead of the multilateral discussions in Riyadh, the UNCCD released a new report in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, outlining the growing global urgency surrounding soil degradation. Key findings pointed to the detrimental effects of unsustainable agricultural practices, which are responsible for 80% of deforestation and 70% of freshwater usage, while contributing to 23% of greenhouse gas emissions derived from agriculture, forestry, and land use. Alarmingly, 46% of the Earth's land surface is classified as arid according to the latest UNCCD report.

About COP16 in Riyadh

The UNCCD COP16 is taking place from December 2 to 13, 2024, at Boulevard Riyadh World, Saudi Arabia. Titled "Our Land. Our Future," the conference commemorates the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, aiming for multilateral action on crucial issues like drought resilience, land tenure, and dust storms.

For more information about the UNCCD COP16 or to express interest in participating, please visit UNCCDCOP16.org.