The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is a critical event addressing the interconnected challenges of desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD). Scheduled from December 2 to 13, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, COP16 marks the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD and the first time this conference is hosted in the Middle East and North Africa. These regions are significantly affected by DLDD, highlighting the urgency for global action.
Global land degradation is a growing crisis with severe implications for ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being. According to UNCCD data:
Extent of Degradation: Approximately 40% of the world’s land is degraded, affecting the livelihoods of 3.2 billion people globally.
Annual Losses: From 2015 to 2019, 100 million hectares of healthy, productive land were degraded each year—an area twice the size of Greenland.
Projected Impacts: By 2050, three-quarters of the global population (~7.5 billion people) could face significant water scarcity due to land degradation and drought.
These findings underscore the imperative for urgent, large-scale restoration efforts coupled with enhanced land governance to halt and reverse land degradation. In response to these challenges, COP16 has been structured around six strategic themes aimed at driving action and shaping effective policies: 1. Land Restoration; 2. Drought Resilience; 3. Sustainable Agri-Food Systems; 4. Equitable Land Governance; 5. Climate and Biodiversity Integration; 6. Financing Mechanisms
COP16 represents a pivotal opportunity to address land degradation neutrality (LDN) and advance global environmental sustainability. However, achieving LDN remains challenging due to the lack of structured national implementation processes and replicable best practices for practical application.
The side event "Rethinking Desertification and Land Restoration: Bridging Science, Policy, and Practice," was co-organized by WATDEV at COP16 UNCCD in Riyadh on December 10, 2024, and offered a valuable platform for sharing WATDEV’s innovative research, modeling, and capacity-building approaches with participating countries. This event aimed to foster cross-sector collaboration and promote actionable solutions for combating desertification and advancing land restoration globally. At this event, the WATDEV project was represented by Dr. Mauro Centritto UNCCD-Civil Society Organization Panel Member and Research Director of the Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), and Dr. Aymen Sawassi researcher at the Bari Institute of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM Bari).
The side event was chaired by Mauro Centritto and featured contributions from prominent experts, including Pierpaolo Roggero (Coordinator of SALAM - MED project, PRIMA), Matthew D. Turner (University of Wisconsin, USA), Anna Luise (Chair of the UNCCD-Committee of the Whole), and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Leader of the CSO Association of Indigenous Peoples). Aymen Sawassi illustrated the outcomes and innovations of the Watdev project (funded by the European Union’s DeSIRA Initiative), coordinated by CIHEAM Bari and focused on integrated water and land management to address desertification and land degradation.
The scope of this side event was to share best practices for addressing the challenges posed by increasing land degradation. It highlighted both the risks and opportunities associated with “greening” approaches and land-use change, promoting new strategies for sustainable land and water management. Additionally, the event aimed to strengthen the science-policy interface and foster networking opportunities among stakeholders committed to combating desertification.
The WATDEV project is developing and implementing best management practices in four African partner countries (Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan) to enhance knowledge and management of water resources in agriculture. As an action-research project, WATDEV is boosting sustainable development in low-income countries by transferring knowledge to farmers and local actors, equipping them with innovative and sustainable solutions for agricultural water management. Capacity-building activities are targeting researchers, and decision-makers and aim to improve agricultural water sustainability and agroecosystem resilience to climate change. The project's dialogue and collaboration with local stakeholders are stimulating discussions on improving agricultural water management, providing a methodological framework for understanding and managing water and agricultural resource dynamics at both small and large scales. This approach serves as a model for applying best management practices in other countries affected by desertification processes, bolstering communities' resilience to climate change.
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