When the land dies, futures fade

By Asmaa Niang, UNCCD Sport4Land Champion for desertification 

In Morocco’s rural communities, women are on the front lines of a growing crisis. I’ve met many who face each day with quiet determination, juggling the demands of caring for their families while struggling against the harsh realities of land degradation. As desertification advances, their daily lives become harder, fields produce less, water becomes scarcer and work grows more distant. These women carry a heavy burden yet often remain invisible in policies and decisions that affect their future. Without fertile land, access to resources and recognition, they are left to battle alone on exhausted soil. 

The cost of desertification 

Across the world, desertification is silently eroding rural livelihoods—and Morocco is no exception. In Morocco alone, land degradation threatens the food security and incomes of 1.5 million households. This environmental crisis reshapes more than landscapes; it destabilizes lives, deepens inequality and pushes the most vulnerable closer to poverty and displacement¹. Estimates say that the economic cost of land degradation in the Arab region² alone is estimated at 9 billion dollars per year³.  

This crisis doesn't just impact the land—it hits people, families, and especially women and girls the hardest. In many rural areas, it is primarily women who work the land, feed their families and keep communities going. But even as they carry that load, they’re often denied the basic right to own the soil they rely on. In the Arab region, 23 per cent of women work in agriculture, yet millions still have no legal claim to the land they depend on. In Morocco, only 4,4 per cent of landowners are female. As the land dries up, so do their options—leaving them more exposed to hunger, poverty, displacement and violence. 

Desertification: A story of resilience 

Adversity—whether from drought or discrimination—requires strength. For me, that strength came through sport. Judo taught me discipline, strategy nd resilience—skills that extend far beyond the mat. Like sport, life demands the ability to rise after every fall. Sports can be a powerful force for empowerment, helping women and girls build confidence, autonomy and hope. 

That’s why I’m partnering with the Yzza Slaoui Foundation, a local NGO working in Tendrara—a desert town in Morocco facing severe social and environmental challenges. Together, we’re creating opportunities through sports, because in the fight against desertification, one of the greatest battles is mental. Sport helps build the mindset to persevere. 

Investing in rural women 

Supporting rural women starts with recognizing their right to land. Land ownership is more than a legal title—it’s a foundation for economic stability, self-determination and dignity. The Her Land campaign by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is a vital initiative that raises awareness about women’s land rights and calls for inclusive public policy. 

There is hope. In Morocco, rural women have spent more than a decade organizing to claim their rights. Legal reforms now allow equal access to community land, and even traditional power structures are beginning to shift. Families that once opposed these rights are now supporting them. This progress is opening doors—to ownership, opportunity and empowerment. When women thrive, their families and entire communities rise with them. 

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Asmaa Niang is the UNCCD Sport4Land Champion for combating desertification. Launching her professional sporting career only in her late 20s, she became a six times African Champion and competed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. In addition to her athletic and professional achievements, Asmaa Niang advocates for rural women through the Yzza Slaoui Foundation and is the founder of Kintsugi-Vibes, an organization focused on mental health support for vulnerable athletes and communities impacted by desertification in Morocco. 

Sport4Land is a global campaign led by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) aimed at uniting the sports community in the fight against land degradation, desertification and drought. With climate change accelerating droughts, heatwaves and land degradation, the impact is being felt not only on playing fields but also on the food we eat, the livelihoods we depend on and the environment we share. 

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1. https://www.unido.org/news/desertification-moroccan-highlands-curbed-indigenous-food-resource-preserved
2. Arab region according to UNESCWA
3. https://www.unescwa.org/publications/factsheet-her-land-her-right