SRINAGAR: On December 2, nations from around the world will gather in Riyadh for the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The meeting comes against the backdrop of an alarming crisis: approximately 100 million hectares of healthy, productive land—an area equivalent to the size of Egypt—are being degraded annually due to desertification and drought, driven primarily by climate change and unsustainable land management, UN assessment said.
Land is fundamental to life on Earth, providing food, shelter, and livelihoods for billions. It sustains local, national, and global economies, regulates the climate, and supports biodiversity. Despite its critical importance, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, affecting 3.2 billion people—almost half of the global population.
From deforested Haitian mountains to the shrinking Lake Chad in Africa’s Sahel region and drying lands in Georgia, the impacts of land degradation are visible worldwide. Desertification—the degradation of land in arid and semi-arid areas—results from a combination of climatic variations and human activities, such as deforestation and over-farming.
Land degradation is intricately linked to climate change. Healthy ecosystems absorb one-third of human-generated carbon dioxide, a key driver of global warming. However, deforestation and poor land practices reduce this capacity, further intensifying the climate crisis.
Droughts, increasingly frequent and severe due to rising global temperatures, exacerbate land degradation. By 2050, three out of four people worldwide are expected to face water scarcity, making the preservation and restoration of productive land even more urgent.
The UNCCD calls for a “moonshot moment for land,” emphasising the need to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030. While the scale of the challenge is daunting, there is cause for optimism. Success stories from around the world demonstrate what is possible: farmers in Burkina Faso are employing innovative techniques to revitalise degraded soils, environmentalists in Uzbekistan are planting trees to combat salt and dust emissions, and communities in the Philippines are regenerating natural barriers to protect against extreme weather.
In Riyadh, stakeholders from governments, private enterprises, civil society, and youth organisations will collaborate to accelerate the restoration of degraded land. Key objectives include:
Scaling Up Restoration Efforts: Restore land health by 2030 and beyond.
Enhancing Resilience: Mitigate the impacts of droughts, sandstorms, and other extreme weather events.
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture: Improve soil health and adopt nature-positive farming practices.
Securing Land Rights: Ensure equitable and sustainable land stewardship for all, particularly marginalised groups.
Driving Economic Growth: Unlock opportunities for land-based jobs, particularly for youth.
Bolstering Climate Solutions: Leverage land restoration to combat climate change and support biodiversity.
The degradation of land jeopardises global food security, economic stability, and ecological balance. As UNCCD highlights, the health of our land is essential to our survival. COP16 represents a pivotal opportunity to chart a sustainable future and transform degraded lands into thriving ecosystems.
The world will be watching Riyadh closely to see whether this gathering can spark the transformative action required to safeguard our planet’s most essential resource.
