The United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) concluded the convening at COP16 in Riyadh Saudi Arabia with a focus on resilience. Resilience was broadly looked into with considerations of its interconnectedness from tree planting efforts, to rainwater harvesting and land ownership when it comes to communities affected by climate mobility. The Resilience Day saw countries sharing their experiences and outlining some of the restorative actions put in place to address land degradation and revert desertification.
Land restoration and resilience actions entail diverse topics that include drought monitoring technology, tackling sand and dust storms, early warning systems (EWS), management of forest fires in arid areas, and freshwater conservation among others. Nature entirely plays a crucial role in the provision for diverse species from humans to wildlife, and varied species existing in different ecosystems globally.
“Nature is our marketplace, our pharmacy, and our sanctuary,” said Fatimata Cheiffou, Ambassador of Niger to Italy. In highlighting her personal and public dimensions of resilience Fatimata emphasized that as a member of the nomadic community land is their heritage. She further revealed that the health of the land is inseparable from the health of its people, as she called for collective action for land restoration.
As the impacts of climate change continue increasing in severity, land degradation highly impacts their consistency. For example, the element of water scarcity has become alarmingly impossible to overlook as the majority are faced with limited to no clean water for consumption. However, during the resilience day of the UNCCD meeting, some solutions like; the construction of terraces for rain harvesting, building reservoirs for storing the scarce rainfall when it comes, and land restoration projects were shared by countries.
According to Abdulaziz Al Shaibani, Deputy Minister for Water, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Saudi Arabia, there’s a need for an intergovernmental body or international organization to develop strategies for resilience with regard to drought mitigation. He said this could connect the work being done in the water, food, agriculture, and environment sectors.
To fully address the water scarcity complex, some of the strategies underlined pointed to a need for strong institutions and governance around water management. A move that would include lowering water service fees for irrigation hence an incentive for farmers to grow water-intensive crops in arid areas.
Notably, the occurrence of droughts and desertification does not only end at causing environmental crises rather it also highly contributes to hunger, poverty, and displacement in some instances. It’s due to such circumstances that it’s important for more resourcing of efforts at building resilience and placing communities and host governments at the center.
Abdallah Alwardat, Director, of Global Partner Countries, World Food Programme (WFP), urged world leaders and citizens to unite in accelerating the restoration of degraded lands through approaches such as regenerative agriculture and water harvesting, which, he said will create jobs and promote more resilient food value chains.
Early warning systems with accurate climate change and hydrological data are essential in informing decision-making. These actions if well implemented are looked upon as a great stride to addressing land degradation that is continuedly spreading at an alarming rate.
