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.
Source and full article: Turyakira Fred Kabango for Water Journalists Africa
