About 200 countries participated in the 16th Conference of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) i.e. COP16.
These countries have pledged to prioritize land restoration and drought resilience in national policies and international cooperation.
This is considered an essential strategy for food security and climate adaptation.
Although the parties could not agree on a new drought management system, a strong political declaration and 39 decisions were adopted that set the way forward.
According to UNCCD’s recently released World Draft Atlas and Economics of Drought Resilience report, drought affects the livelihoods of 1.8 billion people worldwide, further marginalizing already vulnerable populations.
It causes an estimated $300 billion in losses each year, putting critical economic sectors such as agriculture, energy and water at risk.
Main results achieved at COP16:
- A prototype of the International Drought Resilience Observatory has been released, the first global AI-powered platform to help countries assess and improve their capacity to deal with extreme drought.
- Mobilizing private sector participation under the ‘Business for Land’ initiative.
- Create a system for tribal people and local communities to adequately represent their unique perspectives and challenges.
“Today, history has been made,” said Oliver Tester, Australia’s Indigenous representative, “We look forward to advancing our commitment to protect Motherland through a dedicated system and we are confident that we will have a voice.” I heard.”
…to be continued…