December 16, 2024 (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) — The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)’s COP16 summit concluded without an agreement to tackle drought, while making some progress on other issues, including civil society engagement and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

The world loses 100 million hectares of land to degradation yearly, yet healthy land is key to achieving sustainable development, climate, and biodiversity goals. The UNCCD released a report that shows while funding for land restoration has increased from $37 billion in 2016 to $66 billion by 2022, this still falls far short of the $355 billion per year needed.

The COP Presidency launched the Riyadh Action Agenda, aiming to mobilize ambitious commitments to conserve and restore 1.5 billion hectares of land globally by 2030. The Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership announced $12.15 billion to support 80 of the world’s most vulnerable countries in tackling drought resilience.

Following is a statement by Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes, WRI Africa:

“This summit ended with mixed results for restoring the land that all humans rely on. There is now much greater global attention to the crisis our land is facing and the widespread implications for people’s food security and livelihoods.

“Yet it is disappointing that countries did not agree on a new framework for tackling droughts, a major growing risk. No country is immune to drought, and not reaching a consensus threatens the world’s goals on poverty, hunger, gender equality, climate change, life on land and employment. We urge countries to work together over the coming two years to enable a strong decision at COP17 in 2026.

“Importantly, countries agreed to create caucuses for Indigenous Peoples and for local communities to formally bring their voices into the decision-making process — a notable development given how vital they are to sustainably managing land. And there were positive decisions on sustainable land use systems, integrating science into policy, addressing soil degradation of agricultural lands; and knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and innovation.

“The new finance commitments for land restoration and drought are welcome, though we now need to see much greater investment from both governments and the private sector.

“A major bright spot was the engagement from civil society and youth, who demonstrated numerous initiatives they are undertaking to restore land health, secure land rights, and unlock economic opportunities, especially for young people.

“Land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change are intricately linked. Countries cannot address climate change nor biodiversity loss without acting on land degradation. That’s why countries should now integrate climate, biodiversity, and land issues into their national development plans — to secure a better future for people, nature and climate.”