The three Rio Conventions are focused on biodiversity, climate change, and desertification — and the stark truth is that the latter, namely the global fight against land degradation and drought, has received the least attention. Global cooperation is crucial in tackling these pressing challenges: Currently, 40% of the world’s land is considered degraded, and without action, land degradation could cost the global economy $23 trillion by 2050, affecting three-quarters of the world’s population.

In this context, the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2-13, 2024, marked a pivotal moment. Coinciding with the UNCCD’s 30th anniversary, COP16 set new records for participation and established an ambitious agenda for action.

Following the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP29 in Baku and the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP16 in Colombia, this UNCCD COP16 completed a trifecta of major environmental conferences in 2024. This series of gatherings underscored the urgent need to address interconnected global challenges, but also highlighted the difficulty of maintaining momentum after six weeks of intense negotiations across the three events. However, Saudi Arabia's adept stewardship of COP16 helped deliver impactful outcomes, despite the complexities involved.

UNCCD COP16 essentials:          

• Two weeks of negotiation
• Launch of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership
• $12.5 billion committed to action
• 37 decisions adopted
• Increase in the UNCCD Secretariat budget (for the first time in a decade)
• 100,000+ participants in the Blue Zone and Green Zone

Riyadh hosted the largest and most inclusive UNCCD conference in history, welcoming over 100,000 participants to the Blue Zone and Green Zone. The Blue Zone gathering included more than 3,200 delegates from 197 countries, 565 representatives from UN specialized agencies, around 3,500 participants from civil society organizations, and 400 private sector leaders. COP16 also featured a Green Zone for the first time, welcoming the whole global and regional ecosystem fighting land degradation and drought, designed to raise global awareness and facilitate collaboration among key stakeholders from various sectors. 

Riyadh leads COP16 with $12.15 billion commitment to global land restoration

COP16 in Riyadh saw a promising surge in financial commitments aimed at combating drought and land degradation. The newly established Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership secured an impressive $12.15 billion in initial pledges, led by the Arab Coordination Group's $10 billion contribution. This partnership is set to support 80 of the world’s most vulnerable countries in enhancing their drought resilience.

Targeted initiatives also received significant backing: Italy contributed €11 million and Austria €3.6 million to the Great Green Wall initiative, while the United States pledged $70 million to the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative.

As the first UNCCD COP held in the Middle East and North Africa region, COP16 was also the occasion to shine a spotlight on regional challenges as well as innovative solutions. In this context, Saudi Arabia unveiled five new projects worth $60 million under the Saudi Green Initiative and launched a regional sand and dust storm early warning center under the World Meteorological Organization. The Kingdom pledged up to $10 million to kickstart it, directly supporting the goals of the international "Early Warnings for All" initiative.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia launched the National Red Sea Sustainability Strategy at COP16, emphasizing the interconnectedness of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in combating desertification and promoting sustainable development in coastal zones.

Integrating policy and science to combat land degradation

COP16 achieved substantial policy progress, adopting 37 decisions by consensus, including 15 from the Committee of the Whole (COW). Notable decisions include:

• The establishment of dedicated caucuses for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, ensuring their unique perspectives are meaningfully integrated into the convention's work. “Today, history has been made,” said Indigenous Peoples representative Oliver Tester from Australia, emphasizing the significance of this milestone.
• The development of gender-specific indicators for the next UNCCD strategic framework. This initiative aims to close the gender data gap and provide a more comprehensive understanding of how desertification, land degradation, and drought impact different genders.
• The approval of a first decision on rangelands, encouraging the sustainable management, restoration, and conservation of these vast ecosystems, which cover half of Earth's terrestrial surface.
• The acknowledgment of the critical interconnections between preventing, mitigating, and reversing land and soil degradation in agricultural areas, and the decision to align the convention's work and methodologies to address these links more effectively.
• The approval of an 8% increase in the UNCCD secretariat's core budget, marking the first real growth after a decade of zero-nominal growth. This increase aims to address pressing challenges and enhance the secretariat's capacity to support convention implementation.
  
  

The conference reaffirmed the critical role of science in shaping policy and approved the continuation of the Science-Policy Interface (SPI), which presented alarming new findings to parties. The Global Threat of Drying Lands UNCCD report revealed that 77.6% of Earth’s land has experienced increased aridity since the 1990s, with drylands now covering over 40% of the planet’s surface. These stark statistics highlighted the urgency of addressing drought, a crisis affecting 1.8 billion people globally and imposing annual economic losses estimated at $300 billion.

In response to these challenges, COP16 notably launched the International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO), an innovative AI-driven platform spearheaded by the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) to deliver advanced assessments and bolster global drought resilience efforts.

Amplifying youth voices and civil society in environmental action

COP16 witnessed robust youth participation, building on the UNCCD Youth Engagement Strategy and Action Plan. The conference emphasized the importance of youth voices in land and drought negotiations and action, providing technical and financial support for youth-led initiatives. Additionally, the conference called for greater civil society organizations to participate in UNCCD processes, recognizing their crucial role in implementing sustainable land management practices.

Accelerating land restoration from Riyadh to COP17 in Mongolia

As the global community looks toward COP17 in Mongolia in 2026, the outcomes of COP16 have charted a decisive course for accelerating efforts in land restoration and drought resilience. Among its significant achievements, COP16 laid critical groundwork for the development of a future global drought instrument, whose specific format and content are anticipated to be decided at COP17.

In his closing remarks, COP16 President and Saudi Arabian Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture H.E. Abdulrahman AlFadley described the conference as “a turning point in raising international awareness of the pressing need to accelerate land restoration and drought resilience.”

In addition, the Under-Secretary-General and UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw stated: “As we have discussed and witnessed, the solutions are within our grasp. The actions we take today will shape not only the future of our planet but also the lives, livelihoods, and opportunities of those who depend on it.”

Building on this momentum, the way forward is clear: these ambitious commitments must now be translated into tangible actions that restore land, strengthen drought resilience, and secure a sustainable future for generations to come. Over the next two years, the Saudi Presidency will steer global cooperation in ensure these aspirations become reality.