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Following a key decision at COP16 in Riyadh in December 2024, the process to shape the future direction of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is now officially underway. The COP Bureau has approved the Terms of Reference for the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Future Strategic Framework (IWG-FSF), paving the way for nominations. The IWG-FSF will lead the development of a post-2030 strategy for the Convention. Its mandate includes identifying key elements, including possible goals and targets, for the future strategic framework, and conducting a thorough analysis of the current indicators used in national reporting.  Building on the milestones of the 2018–2030 Strategic Framework, the IWG-FSF will also consider lessons from its midterm evaluation, insights from the IWG on Drought and broader UN indicators, such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Each regional annex will nominate three representatives. In addition, the group will include five technical experts: one each from civil society and international organizations and three independent experts. The deadline to nominate civil society representatives is 26 May 2025The deadline to nominate independent science experts is 13 June 2025The deadline to nominate regional representatives is 4 July 2025 Final appointments will be made within two months of the Terms of Reference approval. The approved Terms of Reference will be shared with Parties through the UNCCD national focal points and science and technology correspondents. The IWG-FSF is expected to deliver an interim progress report at the 23rd session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 23) in December 2025.  

To what extent are a country’s economy, people, and infrastructure able to cope with drought and how can they do better? That is what the latest initiative of IDRA looks to answer, as 75 per cent of Earth’s land has become permanently drier in the last three decades and drought is driving forced displacement, disrupting shipping and hampering food and energy production around the world.The International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO), the first global AI-driven platform for proactive drought management, unveiled its prototype at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh, which laid the groundwork for a future global drought regime.As the tool enters its final development phase ahead of the next UN land conference, which will take place in Mongolia in 2026, IDRO developers and partners break down what sets the Observatory apart, how it fits with existing drought-related initiatives, and why it matters for climate change adaptation.What kind of insights does IDRO provide?IDRO sheds light on the capacity of territories to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to drought from various perspectives —built environments, natural environments, communities, and the economy. By selecting different variables, users from the global to the local level can generate visualizations to understand where the pain points are and set priorities for action.“With IDRO, authorities and land and water managers will be able to analyze and visualize key drought resilience indicators as the basis for better decisions,” says UNCCD Senior Advisor Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta.Importantly, users needn’t be specialists to use, and draw value from, the tool, which can support interventions across global, regional, country, and local scales.Why do we need an International Drought Resilience Observatory?“We must move from merely assessing drought risks towards building resilience,” says Andrea Toreti, senior scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (EC- JRC), who coordinates the Copernicus European and Global Drought Observatories. “This is precisely IDRO’s added value: helping to quantify and evaluate the drought resilience status of a place to inform action on the ground.”The confirmation of 2024 as the warmest year on record highlights the growing urgency to turn science and data into policies and policies into action.“Simply put, we cannot adapt to climate change without building drought resilience,” says Roger Pulwarty, Senior Scientist at the Physical Sciences Laboratory of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). State Secretary of Environment of Spain Hugo Morán, UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Minister for Environment of Saudi Arabia Osama Faqeeha, Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition of Senegal Daouda Ngom, and European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall, during the IDRO presentation at COP16 in December 2024.What unique value does IDRO add to existing drought databases and tools?In the past decade, experts have produced a wealth of data, indicators and metrics on drought and have advocated for a shift in emphasis from response to preparedness. However, the breadth and complexity of this information and the fact that it is scattered means it can be hard for busy decision-makers to use it.IDRO will draw on the best available data globally —including NASA’s and Copernicus’— to answer queries in a format that non-specialists can easily assimilate.“IDRO will package complex drought resilience information into accessible, customizable, and highly actionable formats, unlocking a world of possibilities in terms of assessing priorities, targeting investments, and monitoring progress,” says Hugo Morán, State Secretary of Environment of Spain, which co-chairs IDRA.Who is leading the development of IDRO?IDRO is an initiative of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), a global coalition of more than 70 countries and organizations hosted by the UNCCD.The creation of the Observatory is overseen by the IDRA secretariat in collaboration with the Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture, which acts as a developer, and top experts from governmental, non-governmental, multilateral, and research organizations from around the world.At a COP16 event on IDRO, Executive Secretary of UNCCD Ibrahim Thiaw pointed out the systemic nature of drought and the need to tackle it together: “We can only achieve meaningful results by joining forces; IDRO is a perfect example of the collaborative mindset we require to protect people from impending and future droughts.”The Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition of Senegal Daouda Ngom, who co-chairs IDRA, also welcomed the development of the Observatory: “It reaffirms our joint commitment to making drought resilience a cornerstone of sustainable development and international cooperation.”What initiatives does IDRO build on?The Drought Initiative, launched by UNCCD in 2018, has already supported more than 70 countries in creating national drought plans and improving the technical and institutional capacity to enhance drought management. Additionally, it put together a toolbox that stakeholders can use to boost the resilience of people and ecosystems to drought.How does IDRO relate to initiatives like the Riyadh Drought Partnership?Unveiled at UNCCD COP16, the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership is a financial facility launched by Saudi Arabia —an IDRA member since 2024— to support 80 of the world’s most vulnerable countries in preparing for drought.IDRA, which is currently focused on mobilizing political will and developing innovative tools like IDRO, is proud to have inspired the Partnership and the Arab Coordination Group to raise USD 12.15 billion for the land and drought agenda, as announced during COP16.“IDRO will provide critical information to vulnerable communities and synergize with the Riyadh Partnership,” said Deputy Minister for Environment of Saudi Arabia Osama Faqeeha at an IDRO event at the UN conference.What is next for IDRO?IDRA is convening leading drought experts and allies to fine tune suitable environmental and social indicators for drought resilience; further develop the functionalities of the Observatory, which harnesses remote-sensing data and AI; and enhance data collection and visualization. The final version of IDRO, with all its functionalities, is expected to launch at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia in 2026. 

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 14 December — After two weeks of intense negotiations on how to tackle land degradation, desertification and drought, the largest and most inclusive United Nations land conference wrapped up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.The nearly 200 countries convening at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) committed to prioritize land restoration and drought resilience in national policies and international cooperation as an essential strategy for food security and climate adaptation. Nations also made significant progress in laying the groundwork for  a future global drought regime, which they intend to complete at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026. In the meanwhile, more than USD 12 billion were pledged to tackle desertification, land degradation and drought around the world, especially in the most vulnerable countries.Among the main agreements reached at COP16 were the creation of a Caucus for Indigenous Peoples and a Caucus for Local Communities to ensure that their unique perspectives and challenges are adequately represented; a continuation of the Convention’s Science-Policy Interface to strengthen science-based decision-making, and the mobilization of private sector engagement under the Business4Land initiative.COP16 was the largest and most inclusive UNCCD COP to date: it attracted more than 20,000 participants, around 3,500 of them from civil society, and featured more than 600 events as part of the first Action Agenda to involve non-state actors in the work of the Convention.In a prepared statement, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed emphasized “Our work does not end with the closing of COP16. We must continue to tackle the climate crisis—it is a call to action for all of us to embrace inclusivity, innovation, and resilience. Youth and Indigenous peoples must be at the heart of these conversations. Their wisdom, their voices, and their creativity are indispensable as we craft a sustainable future with renewed hope for generations to come.”In his closing remarks, COP16 President, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Alfadley, said the meeting marked a turning point in raising international awareness of the pressing need to accelerate land restoration and drought resilience.“The Kingdom’s hosting of this important conference reflects its ongoing commitment to environmental issues and sustainable development. It reaffirms its dedication to working with all parties to preserve ecosystems, enhance international cooperation to combat desertification and land degradation, and address drought. We hope the outcomes of this session will lead to a significant shift that strengthens efforts to preserve land, reduce its degradation, build capacities to address drought, and contribute to the wellbeing of communities around the world.”Addressing COP16 closing plenary, 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 took today will shape not only the future of our planet but also the lives, livelihoods, and opportunities of those who depend on it.”He further emphasized a significant shift in the global approach to land and drought issues, highlighting the interconnected challenges with broader global issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, forced migration, and global stability.Financial needs and pledgesDuring the Conference, participants heard that UNCCD estimates that at least USD 2.6 trillion in total investments are needed by 2030 to restore more than one billion hectares of degraded land and build resilience to drought. This equals USD 1 billion in daily investments between now and 2030 to meet global land restoration targets and combat desertification and drought.New pledges for large-scale land restoration and drought preparedness were announced, such as the  Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership which attracted USD 12.15 billion to support 80 of the world’s most vulnerable countries in building their resilience to drought, including a USD 10 billion pledge from the Arab Coordination Group.The Great Green Wall (GGW), an African-led initiative to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, also mobilized EUR 11 million from the Italian Government for landscape restoration in the Sahel and EUR 3.6 million from the Austrian Government to strengthen the coordination and implementation of the initiative across 22 African countries. The drive is part of the GGW Accelerator, a UNCCD-supported effort to achieve the ambitions for a greener, more prosperous Sahel.Additionally, the United States and several partner countries and organizations announced total investments of nearly USD 70 million to advance the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS). The initiative looks to build resilient food systems grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops grown in healthy soils.The first-ever UNCCD COP in the Middle East and North Africa provided an opportunity to shine a light on the specific challenges facing the region and bring to the fore innovative solutions to land degradation and drought.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced five new projects valued at USD 60 million to ramp up climate and environmental efforts as part of the Saudi Green Initiative. The UNCCD COP16 Presidency also announced the launch of an international sand and dust storm monitoring initiative. This effort, part of a regional early warning system, aims to complement existing efforts overseen by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).The International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO), the first global AI-driven platform to help countries assess, and enhance, their capacity to cope with harsher droughts. This innovative tool is an initiative of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), which Saudi Arabia joined earlier this year. Greater voice for Indigenous Peoples and other non-state actorsIn a landmark decision, Parties requested the creation of a Caucus for Indigenous Peoples and a Caucus for Local Communities. The objective is to ensure that their unique perspectives and priorities are adequately represented in the work of the Convention. The declaration ‘Sacred Lands’, presented during the inaugural Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at a UNCCD COP, underscored the role of Indigenous Peoples in sustainable resource management and called for greater involvement in global land and drought governance, including through participation in land restoration efforts.“Today, history has been made”, said Indigenous People representative Oliver Tester from Australia. “We look forward to championing our commitment to protect Mother Earth through a dedicated Caucus, and leave this space trusting that our voices be heard.”COP16 also saw the biggest youth participation to date, building on the UNCCD Youth Engagement Strategy and Action Plan, that seeks to give youth a more prominent role in land and drought negotiations and  action, and provide technical and financial support for youth-led initiatives.On the gender front, countries underscored the need to pay special attention to all forms of discrimination faced by women and girls when designing and implementing policy and programmes related to land degradation and drought.In recognition of the important role of the  private sector, which currently contributes only 6% of financing towards land restoration and drought resilience, Parties have mandated the UNCCD Secretariat and the Global Mechanism to mobilize private sector engagement under the Business4Land initiative. The decision emphasizes the critical role of private sector advocacy, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies, and sustainable finance in addressing DLDD challenges. The decision comes after the Business4Land Forum, which brought together the largest-ever number of private sector participants at a UNCCD COP — more than 400— from industries like finance, fashion, agri-food, and pharmaceuticals.Stronger science on land and droughtAcknowledging the role of science as the foundation for sound policies, the Parties agreed on the continuation of UNCCD’s Science-Policy Interface (SPI), which was created at COP11 in 2013 to translate scientific findings into recommendations for decision-makers. At COP16, for instance, the SPI presented definitive evidence that three quarters of the Earth’s ice-free surface have become permanently drier in the past 30 years, with a predicted five billion people living in drylands by 2100, showing the urgency to take action.A new UNCCD report, The Global Threat of Drying Lands: Regional and global aridity trends and future projections, revealed that some 77.6% of Earth’s land has experienced drier conditions since the 1990s compared to the previous 30-year period. Over the same period, drylands — an arid area with low rainfall— expanded by about 4.3 million km2 equal to an area nearly a third larger than India, the world’s 7th largest country. Drylands now cover 40.6% of all land on Earth excluding Antarctica.Seven of nine planetary boundaries are negatively impacted by unsustainable land use, highlighted the UNCCD report Stepping back from the precipice: Transforming land management to stay within planetary boundaries, produced in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which explains how land degradation is undermining Earth’s capacity to sustain a growing human population. The report reiterates that agriculture accounts for 23% of greenhouse gas emissions, 80% of deforestation, and 70% of freshwater use, and calls for an urgent land use transition to step away from the precipice.According to UNCCD’s newly released World Drought Atlas and Economics of Drought Resilience reports, droughts affect the livelihoods of 1.8 billion people worldwide, pushing already vulnerable communities to the brink. They also cost an estimated USD 300 billion per year, threatening key economic sectors such as agriculture, energy and water.From Riyadh to MongoliaFor the first time, UNCCD Parties made a decision encouraging the sustainable management, restoration and conservation of rangelands — vast ecosystems used for grazing — ahead of COP17, to be hosted by Mongolia in 2026 during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. These ecosystems cover half of the Earth’s terrestrial surface and are the dominant land use in the world’s drylands, but have long been overlooked and are disappearing faster than rainforests.The degradation of rangelands threatens one-sixth of global food supplies, potentially depleting one-third of the Earth's carbon reserves. Some two billion people who live in pastoral areas are among the world’s most vulnerable in the face of desertification, land degradation and drought.ENDNOTESMedia inquiries:For media enquiries, please contact the UNCCD Press Office at press@unccd.int or unccd@portland-communications.comCOP16 decisions are available here: https://www.unccd.int/cop16/official-documentsAbout UNCCDThe United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an international agreement on good land stewardship. It helps people, communities and countries create wealth, grow economies and secure enough food, clean water and energy by ensuring land users an enabling environment for sustainable land management. Through partnerships, the Convention’s 197 Parties set up robust systems to manage drought promptly and effectively. Good land stewardship based on sound policy and science helps integrate and accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilience to climate change and prevents biodiversity loss.About COP16The Conference of the Parties (COP) was established by the Convention as its main decision-making body. It is made up of UNCCD’s 197 Parties (196 countries and the European Union) and is responsible for guiding the Convention so that it can respond to global challenges and national needs.  UNCCD COP16 will be a landmark event to raise global ambition and accelerate action on land and drought resilience through a people-centred approach. Coinciding with the Convention’s 30th anniversary, UNCCD COP16 was the first major UN conference hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was also the first time a UNCCD COP was held in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which knows firsthand the impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought.

《联合国防治荒漠化公约》缔约方大会第十六届会议就未来全球抗旱机制展开谈判为利雅得全球抗旱伙伴关系认捐 21.5 亿美元《世界干旱图集》重点介绍全球干旱影响和抗旱解决方案国际抗旱观察站将提供首个全球人工智能驱动的数据平台，以评估全球抗旱能力沙特阿拉伯利雅得，2024 年 12 月 3 日--在《联合国防治荒漠化公约》（UNCCD）缔约方大会第 16届会议（COP16）上，197 个缔约方齐聚一堂，共同应对世界上最致命、代价最高的灾害之一。会议于 12 月 2 日（星期一）开幕，并作出了加强全球抗旱能力的重大政治和财政承诺。干旱因气候变化和不可持续的土地耕作方式而加剧，自 2000 年以来，干旱的频率和强度激增了近 30%，威胁着农业、水安全和 18 亿人的生计，最贫穷国家首当其冲。《联合国防治荒漠化公约》执行秘书易卜拉欣-蒂亚乌在开幕致辞中说："我们齐聚一堂，使缔约方大会第十六届会议成为一个历史性时刻。世界期待缔约方通过一项大胆的决定，帮助扭转干旱这一最普遍、最具破坏性的环境灾难的颓势。联合国常务副秘书长阿明娜·穆罕默德女士（Amina J. Mohammed）在利雅得举行的《联合国防治荒漠化公约》第十六届缔约方会议上向与会代表发表视频讲话，强调土地退化和干旱带来的挑战日益严峻："从未有如此多的人受到土地退化和干旱的影响。目前，40% 的肥沃土地已经退化，造成了可怕的后果：不平等现象加剧，人们忍饥挨饿，流离失所。生计和企业受到威胁，环境遭到破坏，和平、稳定与安全的基础受到动摇。根据目前的趋势，到 2050 年，全世界每四个人中就有三个人会受到干旱的影响。但在利雅得，我们jiang 力挽狂澜"。新当选的 COP16 主席、沙特阿拉伯环境、水和农业部长阿卜杜勒拉赫曼-阿尔法德利也表达了同样的担忧，他指出，退化的土地已经影响到全球 30 亿人，并将 "增加许多社区的移民、稳定和不安全程度"。缔约方大会第十六届会议将重点关注建立首个全球抗旱机制，应对《联合国防治荒漠化公约》多项条款和过去七届缔约方大会决定中强调的系统性干旱风险。  预计各国政府将根据缔约方大会第十五届会议设立的干旱问题政府间工作组的建议，通过谈判作出承诺，加强各级的抗灾能力。利雅得全球抗旱伙伴关系获得 21.5 亿美元的承诺款项沙特阿拉伯王国作为《联合国防治荒漠化公约》缔约方大会第十六届会议（UNCCD COP16）的东道国，今天宣布启动利雅得全球抗旱伙伴关系（Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership），该伙伴关系将利用公共和私人资金，为全球 80 个最脆弱和受干旱影响最严重的国家提供支持。沙特阿拉伯王国（1.5 亿美元）、伊斯兰开发银行（10 亿美元）和欧佩克国际开发基金（10 亿美元）已为利雅得伙伴关系初步认捐 21.5 亿美元。  阿拉伯协调小组由总部设在 5 个国家的 10 个机构组成，预计将在 COP16 第二天宣布其认捐额。"利雅得抗旱伙伴关系将成为抗旱能力的全球促进者，推动从被动救灾向主动备灾转变。我们还寻求扩大全球资源，以拯救世界各地的生命和生计，"沙特阿拉伯环境、水利和农业部环境事务副部长兼《联合国防治荒漠化公约》缔约方会议第十六届会议主席顾问 Osama Faqeeha 博士说。该伙伴关系将通过各国、金融机构和慈善组织等的自愿捐款，努力筹集更多资金。这些资金和实物捐助将帮助最不发达国家和中低收入国家通过优惠贷款、商业贷款、参股、储蓄、保险和其他金融计划等混合融资方式获得更多资金。 西班牙环境国务秘书雨果·莫兰表示：“对于共同担任国际抗旱韧性联盟（IDRA）主席国的西班牙和塞内加尔来说，促进国际合作是一项关键优先事项。我们正努力动员政治力量和资源，以加强全球范围内的抗旱韧性。然而，还有许多工作需要完成。这也是我们欢迎‘利雅得伙伴关系’的原因，它有潜力为抗旱韧性，特别是在最不发达国家和中低收入国家的抗旱工作，动员更多资源。我们期待与沙特阿拉伯及《联合国防治荒漠化公约》秘书处合作，借助IDRA与这一新伙伴关系之间的协同效应。“干旱问题谈判正在进行第16届缔约方大会（COP16）的一个主要议题将是关于未来全球抗旱韧性制度的谈判，这是首个此类全球机制。公约文本的多个条款提及抗旱问题，过去七次《联合国防治荒漠化公约》缔约方大会也通过了与抗旱相关的决定。于2024年9月30日至10月2日在日内瓦举行的“抗旱韧性+10”会议总结指出：“旱灾日益呈现系统性特征，这需要新的方法、政策工具以及沿着主动和综合抗旱管理方向执行国家抗旱计划。预计各国政府在《联合国防治荒漠化公约》缔约方会议第十六届会议上的谈判，将在缔约方会议第十五届会议设立的干旱问题政府间工作组提出的政策选择的基础上，做出强有力的承诺，加强社区、国家和国际的复原力，以预测、应对即将发生或正在发生的干旱的影响并从中恢复。 "经过 30 年的审议，包括政府间工作组连续六年的审议，所有的目光都集中在我们身上。压力很大，但我们必须抓住利雅得这一关键时刻。齐心协力，我们就能扭转土地退化的趋势，建设一个抗旱能力更强的世界。“世界干旱图集和国际抗旱观察站在全球干旱危机不断升级的情况下，《联合国防治荒漠化公约》与欧盟委员会联合研究中心（JRC）及其合作伙伴合作，推出了《世界干旱地图集》，利用地图、信息图表和案例研究，展示了干旱对不平等、冲突和公共卫生的连带影响，突出强调了干旱对能源、农业、河流运输和贸易等关键部门的系统性风险。   此外，国际抗旱联盟（IDRA）推出了国际抗旱观察站（IDRO）原型--一个由人工智能驱动的全球平台，旨在为从政策制定者到社区的不同利益相关者提供建设抗旱能力的可行见解。IDRO 的完整版将于 2026 年在蒙古举行的《联合国防治荒漠化公约》第十七届缔约方会议上首次亮相，标志着全球向积极主动的干旱管理转变。 耶鲁大学生态系统与建筑中心创始主任安娜-戴森（Anna Dyson）解释说："尽管全球正在出现大量有关抗旱能力的知识，但这些知识往往比较分散，难以获取。观测站将使人们能够快速获取预测、准备和适应干旱挑战所需的各种专业知识和工具。它将洞察力与强大的分析技术相结合，及时提供可操作的信息，同时解决风险和适应战略方面的关键差距。媒体垂询：媒体垂询，请联系《联合国防治荒漠化公约》新闻办公室：press@unccd.int。关于《联合国防治荒漠化公约》《联合国防治荒漠化公约》（UNCCD）是一项关于良好土地管理的国际协定。它通过确保土地使用者享有可持续土地管理的有利环境，帮助人民、社区和国家创造财富、发展经济，并确保充足的粮食、清洁水和能源。通过伙伴关系，《公约》的 197 个缔约方建立了强大的系统，以便及时有效地管理干旱。以健全的政策和科学为基础的良好土地管理有助于整合和加速实现可持续发展目标，增强抵御气候变化的能力，并防止生物多样性的丧失。关于 COP16 《公约》设立了缔约方大会 (COP)，作为其主要决策机构。它由《公约》的 197 个缔约方（196 个国家和欧洲联盟）组成，负责指导《公约》，使其能够应对全球挑战和国家需求。  《公约》第十六届缔约方会议将是一次具有里程碑意义的活动，旨在通过以人为本的方法，提高全球在土地和干旱抗御能力方面的雄心壮志并加快行动。届时将适逢《公约》30 周年。联合国防治荒漠化公约第十六届缔约方会议是首次由沙特阿拉伯王国主办的联合国大型会议。这也将是首次在中东和北非地区举行《公约》缔约方会议，该地区对荒漠化、土地退化和干旱的影响有切身体会。关于 IDRA国际抗旱联盟（IDRA）是第一个为抗旱未来创造政治动力并动员财政和技术资源的全球联盟。作为一个由 70 多个国家和机构组成的不断发展壮大的平台，国际抗旱联盟利用其成员的集体力量，推进抗旱准备方面的政策、行动和能力建设，并承认只有我们的土地才能抵御干旱和气候变化。国际干旱地区协会的工作符合并支持《联合国防治荒漠化公约》（UNCCD）的任务，该公约是国际干旱地区协会秘书处的所在地。更多信息：https://idralliance.global。

 媒体认证已开始目前，全球多达40%的土地已经退化，影响了全球一半人口，并对气候、生物多样性以及人类生计造成了深远影响。由于气候变化和不可持续的土地管理，干旱现象愈发频繁和严重，自2000年以来增长了29%。如果这一趋势持续下去，到2030年，为实现“土地退化零增长”的目标，全球需要恢复15亿公顷的退化土地。今年是环境议题谈判的关键之年，各大会议将聚焦生物多样性、气候变化和荒漠化问题。其中，第十六届《联合国防治荒漠化公约》缔约方大会（COP16）将成为重要的里程碑。大会以‘我们的土地，我们的未来’为主题，邀请各国政府、民间社会代表及权威专家齐聚一堂，共同推动全球在防治土地退化、荒漠化和干旱方面的努力，同时促进可持续发展。此次大会恰逢《联合国防治荒漠化公约》签署30周年，也是迄今为止规模最大的联合国土地主题会议。这将是《公约》缔约方会议首次在中东和北非地区举办，具有里程碑式的重要意义。内容： 联合国防治荒漠化公约缔约方会议第16届会议时间       2024 年 12 月 2 日至 13 日地点       Boulevard Riyadh City, at Al Imam Saud Ibn Faysal Rd. 沙特阿拉伯利雅得希廷区阿尔·伊玛目·苏德·伊本·费萨尔路日程： https://www.unccd.int/official-documents/cop-16-riyadh-saudi-arabia-2024/agenda?date=2024-12-02参与者：来自约 100 个国家的高级领导人担任COP16高级咨询委员会成员的几位前国家元首（哥伦比亚、哥斯达黎加、芬兰、塞内加尔）沙特阿拉伯和其他国家的王室成员联合国常务副秘书长和 30 多位联合国实体和国际组织负责人来自艺术界和体育界的名人，包括《防治荒漠化公约》亲善大使、获奖音乐家、电影制片人和运动员青年领袖，包括《荒漠化公约》土地英雄和青年企业家私营部门、民间社会和土著领导人即将发布的重要报告12 月 1 日波茨坦气候影响研究所发布关于土地问题的特别报告参加 12 月 2 日 13:15 的开幕式新闻发布会： 常务副秘书长阿明娜·穆罕默德《联合国防治荒漠化公约》执行秘书易卜拉欣·蒂奥即将担任缔约方大会第十六届会议主席，以及 波茨坦气候影响研究所所长 约翰·罗克施托姆12 月 2 日发布《全球干旱地图集》12 月 3 日发布执行《联合国防治荒漠化公约》的资金需求评估12 月 3 日发布《抗旱经济学报告》12 月 6 日发布《城乡联系与土地问题入门指南》12 月 9 日发布《全球干旱趋势报告》重点领域缔约方大会第十六届会议将讨论土地退化、抗旱能力和可持续土地管理等重要主题。本次会议的主要目标包括  到 2030 年及以后加快退化土地的恢复工作提高抵御日益加剧的干旱和沙尘暴的能力恢复土壤健康，扩大有利于自然的粮食生产确保土地权利并促进公平，以实现可持续的土地管理确保土地继续提供气候和生物多样性解决方案释放经济机会，包括为青年提供体面的陆上工作机会主题日土地日（12月4日）：重点关注健康土地在应对气候变化、创造就业和减贫方面的作用，强调基于自然的解决方案和私营部门的参与农业食品系统日（12 月 5 日）：强调可持续耕作方法，促进作物生长、土壤健康和生态系统保护治理日（12 月 6 日）：探索包容性土地治理和加强公平土地管理的政策人民日（12 月 7 日）：强调青年、妇女和民间社会参与土地相关决策科学、技术和创新日（12 月 9 日）：旨在加快科学进步，促进土地健康和复原力复原力日（12 月 10 日）：关注促进抵御气候变化的政策和技术金融日（12 月 11 日）：旨在展示支持土地恢复和抗旱能力的创新金融机制高级别活动 部长级高级别对话关于抗旱能力的部长级对话：从日内瓦到利雅得及其他地方：加强全球和国家政策工具，采取积极主动的干旱管理办法（12 月 2 日 15:00 - 17:00）：强调迫切需要创新方法来应对干旱的系统性影响关于融资议题的部长级对话：释放公共和私人资金，促进土地恢复和抗旱能力（12 月 3 日 10:00 - 13:00）：应对增加投资以防治土地退化、荒漠化和干旱的迫切需要移民问题部长级对话：土地退化和干旱对被迫移民、安全和繁荣的影响（12 月 3 日 14:00 - 17:00）：探讨可持续土地管理和抗旱能力如何应对土地退化、被迫移民和冲突等相互关联的挑战以商促地论坛（12 月 4 日 13:00 - 15:00）论坛将汇聚全球领袖，推动私营部门参与，促进公私伙伴关系，并突出企业在可持续土地利用、恢复和复原力方面的领导作用。性别核心小组（12 月 4 日 10:00 - 13:00）性别问题核心小组促进对话，展示推进性别平等的举措，推动合作解决荒漠化、土地退化和干旱问题。青年论坛（12 月 5-7 日） 为期三天的论坛旨在增强青年的领的能力，促进知识交流，并动员采取行动，为可持续的未来恢复和保护土地。土著人口论坛（12 月 7 日 10:00 - 13:00）首届COP16论坛将展示土著人口在土地保护方面的作用，将祖先的知识与全球防治荒漠化的努力相结合。“运动助力土地恢复”冠军揭晓（12 月 7 日，1 号馆舞台）《联合国防治荒漠化公约》在2024年巴黎奥运会上启动#Sport4Land，号召运动员支持土地恢复，推出新的形象大使，并就体育在土地恢复中的作用引发全球对话。媒体核证和后勤报道COP16的媒体代表认证现已开放。我们鼓励记者通过专属平台在线注册系统（ORS）进行申请。 有关媒体的更多信息，请访问 COP16 媒体页面。有关签证和住宿的信息，请访问COP 16会议签证和住宿信息社交媒体 关注：@UNCCD （Twitter/X、Instagram、LinkedIn、Facebook核心关键词：#COP16Riyadh相关关键词：#UNCCDCOP16, #OurLandOurFuture, #UNited4Land, #HerLand, #Sport4Land, #Youth4Land 关键资源 UNCCD COP16 Trello Board，包括品牌准则和关键信息联合国防治荒漠化公约》第十六届缔约方会议网站东道国网站 COP16 会议应用程序已在苹果应用程序商店和 Google Play 上架联合国网络电视 - 现场直播重要的全体会议，并提供所有六种联合国语言的现场口译服务。新闻和媒体资料袋社交媒体工具包

In the lead-up to UNCCD COP16, views from the world’s leading experts on how to speed up action More than 30 countries declared drought emergencies in the past three years alone, and that is only the tip of the iceberg: from India and China, home to every third person in the world; to high-income nations such as the US, Canada and Spain; to Uruguay, Southern Africa and even Indonesia, known for its rainforest, recent events are proof that no country is immune to drought, but all can better anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to it.Droughts impeded grain transportation in the Rhine; disrupted international trade via the Panama Canal; and led to hydropower cuts in Brazil, which depends on water for more than 60 per cent of its electricity supply. In this context, the Drought Resilience +10 conference convened the world’s leading experts in Geneva from 30 September to 2 October. They took stock of the significant progress made since the first meeting in 2013 — which framed drought as a risk to be managed with policies, rather than an unavoidable disaster—and discussed ways to speed up action for drought resilience in the next decade.Jointly convened by the World Meteorological Organization, the Global Water Partnership and the UNCCD, the conference brought together more than 1,000 in-person and online participants from 143 countries. Its recommendations will be central to the negotiations on drought at UNCCD COP16, which will take place from 2-13 December 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here are some of the key perspectives from the global drought community that will inform the path from Geneva to Riyadh and beyond:Droughts are a new normal“Too often, the world continues talking about drought as an anomaly, a disaster, an extreme,” said the Director of the UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Kaveh Madani. “But we know a lot of these water bankruptcy situations are permanent now, a new normal. This means it is imperative we take action to prepare for, and adapt, to harsher droughts.”Droughts are a continuum rather than an event that is confined to a specific place and time. They have serious carry over effects that trigger domino effects; supercharge heat waves and floods, multiplying the risks to lives and livelihoods; and, if no measures are taken, increase the vulnerability of communities, economies, and ecosystems to the next drought, feeding a vicious cycle and. So how can the world get ahead of this phenomenon?“We have the tools, what we need to change are the mindsets,” said director of the National Drought Mitigation Center in the US, Mark Svoboda. “Thinking that because there is rainfall, action can wait, is a mistake. We need to deal with drought before it happens, and we enter panic mode.”Drought is a development and a security issueAround 70 per cent of the world’s available freshwater is in the hands of people living off the land, most of them subsistence farmers in low-income countries with limited livelihood alternatives. Around 2.5 billion of them are youth. Without water there is no food and no land-based jobs, which can lead to forced migration, instability, and conflict.“It is critical to address water-scarcity within the broader context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the global climate, land, and biodiversity targets,” said Secretary General of WMO Celeste Saulo.In the words of Andrea Meza, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): “Drought is not merely an environmental matter. Drought is a development and human security matter that we must urgently tackle from across all sectors and governance levels.”Drought is rising on the global agenda The ravages made by harsher and faster human-made droughts, the knowledge that they are only starting to manifest themselves, and a decade of awareness-raising have propelled the issue up the global agenda, starting with the first UN Conference on Water in nearly 50 years in 2023. This 2024, the European Council has just urged comprehensive EU-wide action to build resilience to drought and achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030; the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), the world's highest-level environmental decision-making body, passed a resolution on drought and land restoration for the first time; and the issue of drought featured prominently at G20 meetings in Brazil.Additionally, drought —and the need for sustainable land and water management— is being recognized as a connector of the Rio Conventions on biodiversity, climate and land, which will all have their COPs taking place in quick succession from October to December. A top priority now is aligning goals, coordinating actions, and harmonizing financial flows at the global level, but especially at the national and community level.“Policies must trigger change on the ground. This is where we need to go in the next 10 years, otherwise, people will continue to die,” warned Rachael McDonnell, Deputy Director General of Research at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).Drought is a long-run gameParticipants agreed that tackling drought is a long-run game as opposed to typical political cycles and investment logics, which tend to favor short-term views.“Drought relief does not promote self-reliance,” said UNCCD drought expert Daniel Tsegai. “Instead, it increases the vulnerability of communities and economic sectors by fueling their dependency on governments and donors, creating a perverse incentive that does not allow them to build their resilience.” In parallel, the true costs of drought are not readily apparent due to its widespread and cumulative impacts, which affect everyday life in ways that are not always attributed to drought, according to Roger Pulwarty, Senior Scientist at the Physical Sciences Laboratory of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The result is that drought has been allowed to become one of the most deadly and costly hazards on the planet. “Building and measuring drought resilience calls for long-term investments,” said Nathan Engle, Senior Climate Change Specialist with the World Bank's Water Global Practice. Longer horizons also make it possible to adapt governance and management to lessons learned and evolving circumstances —particularly, in the context of climate change.Solutions must support healthy land and ecosystemsDrought is not only the lack of rain, but a result of the way we treat our land and ecosystems. One of the challenges in reducing the impacts of drought globally is getting that very message across to decision-makers, finance institutions, and communities. Land degradation fuels drought and climate change and vice versa, meaning that protecting, restoring and sustainably managing lands is central to drought resilience. “Sustainable land use planning and design offers the largest economic benefit for disaster risk reduction as compared to measures focused on relocation, mitigation and retrofitting , such as reinforcement of existing structures,” said Pulwarty from NOAA. Land restoration and nature-based solutions like constructed wetlands, which use nature-inspired processes to treat water, can also offer solutions for both drought and floods, as noted by The Nature Conservancy, the Global Water Partnership, and the UN Environment Program (UNEP.)Currently, investments in nature-based solutions represent only 3 per cent of the close to US$ 7 trillion invested globally each year in activities that have a direct negative impact on nature from both public and private sector sources. Redirecting damaging finance flows and incentives, mainstreaming drought into donor relationships, and having public and private partners join forces were some of the priorities outlined by participants, together with having ecosystems featured in drought plans.Drought impact data urgently neededEarly warning systems have seen a remarkable development in the past decade, as more regions and countries harness meteorological and physical data to anticipate drought. The next decade requires achieving early warning for all, making sure actionable information trickles down to communities, but not only that.“Conducting vulnerability and impact assessments on a regular basis is essential to understand who exactly is at risk and why, according to sector, location, and stakeholder group,” said Chief of the WMO Agricultural Meteorology Division Robert Stefanski.Svoboda, from the National Drought Mitigation Center in the US, concurred: “We need a baseline on impacts to gauge how our vulnerability is changing, and this can only be achieved if we collect impact data in the same way we collect data on rainfall and temperature.”Rural women and girls typically bear the brunt of drought impacts, although they are also at the forefront of the drought resilience efforts that protect the sustenance of entire communities. Hence, systematically collecting sex disaggregated data to gauge their vulnerability and the impacts they face, but also the solutions they devise is another priority.Considering data availability more broadly, some organizations are exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fill data gaps, as noted by Secretary General of GWP Alan AtKisson: “We are looking at how AI could be used, and when it could be trusted, to inform scenario development and support water governance to tackle both drought and floods,” he said.Health enters the drought conversationWhile most drought-related deaths in the past decades were due to famine and malnutrition, drought increasingly multiplies the risks to human health by intensifying heat waves, increasing wildfires, and driving land degradation, ultimately worsing air quality and water quality and quantity. Participants noted that drought impacts health directly and indirectly, particularly affecting rural women and children, the elderly, and those who work outdoors. Droughts can trigger respiratory illness that can lead to asthma and cardiac disease; mental health problems; water-borne diseases, and malnourishment —all of which is compounded by the disruption of health services and hygiene. “There is a need for preventive immunization in drought-stricken areas, for mental health services, and for gender-responsive drought plans that integrate health,” noted Qudsia Huda, Head of Disaster Risk Management and Resilience at the World Health Organization (WHO). Another priority is educating decision-makers, healthcare providers, and communities on how to reduce drought health risks.UNCCD COP16 can mark a new era for drought resilienceNegotiations at the UN land and drought summit in Riyadh, or UNCCD COP16, will be informed by the recommendations experts have drafted in the aftermath of Drought Resilience +10 —guidance on core issues like governance, finance, and inclusion of non-State actors. With its 197 signatories, UNCCD is the only legally binding instrument that addresses land degradation and drought at the global level.The goal is mobilizing the necessary political, financial, and human capital to adequately anticipate, reduce, prepare for, and recover from drought risks, as part of an all-of-government, all-of-society approach that treats drought resilience as what it is —a sustainable development and global security issue. “The way to address global challenges is through multilateralism,” said UNCCD’s Andrea Meza. “Building drought resilience is a long-term process that requires a clear and common vision; that is why an ambitious COP decision on drought is so important.” Learn more about the final Drought Resilience +10 recommendations, watch plenary sessions, and check out presentations here.Register for UNCCD COP16 and check out the agenda here.