The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) have signed an agreement paving the way for the 16th session of the Convention’s Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Riyadh from December 2 to 13, 2024.
The Riyadh COP16 will be the largest-ever meeting of UNCCD’s 197 Parties, the first to be held in the Middle East region and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by Saudi Arabia.
In a related development, Germany will host the next Desertification and Drought Day on June 17, 2024, which will also mark the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), one of the three Rio Conventions alongside climate and biodiversity.
The announcement was made on the margins of UNFCCC COP28 that held last December in Dubai, UAE by Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, and Ms. Katja Dörner, Lord Mayor of Bonn and member of the Local Government for Sustainability (ICLEI) Global Executive Committee on Climate Action and Low Emission Development Portfolio.
According to the UNCCD, land is the foundation of human wellbeing and plays a key role in regulating the planet’s climate.
The Riyadh COP16 will focus on mobilising governments, businesses and communities worldwide to accelerate action on land restoration and drought resilience as a cornerstone of food, water and energy security.
The two-week event will feature a high-level segment, as well as associated events including the Gender Caucus and the Business for Land Forum.
At the signing ceremony in Riyadh on January 31, 2024, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and COP16 President, said: “The hosting of the conference (COP16) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reflects the commitment of the wise leadership to environmental protection at the national, regional, and international levels. Additionally, Saudi Arabia launched several groundbreaking environmental projects, such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative.”
UNCCD Executive Secretary, Ibrahim Thiaw, said: “Today, we are losing fertile lands at an alarming rate, jeopardising global stability, prosperity and sustainability. The Riyadh COP16 must mark a turning point in the way we treat our most precious resource – land – and collectively tackle the global drought emergency.”
