“After 12 days of inclusive, engaging and productive discussions, I am pleased to say the international community at UNCCD COP16 reached 39 key decisions to advance land restoration and drought resilience. COP16 led to the creation of a Caucus for Indigenous Peoples and a Caucus for Local Communities, amplifying the voice of groups acutely impacted by land degradation, and ensuring their unique knowledge is woven into the fabric of ongoing land restoration and drought resilience initiatives.
“This comes after COP16 witnessed significant levels of engagement from Indigenous Peoples and civil society organizations. Meanwhile, the adoption of an ambitious Declaration on Parties’ commitment to combat sand and dust storms, will accelerate essential global mitigation measures. COP16 in Riyadh also succeeded in launching a new policy area concerning grasslands and rangelands, further enhancing our ability to restore these critical ecosystems. And crucially, the international community also agreed to increase the UNCCD Secretariat’s budget by 8%, marking the first real growth in over a decade.
“These decisions are part of a COP that ramped up investment in land restoration, and saw major participation from the private sector and financial institutions, resulting in over $12 billion being pledged during the conference to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification. Under the Riyadh Action Agenda, initiatives such as the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnerships have been coupled with other new initiatives and driven the enhancement of existing ones.
From the United States and several partners announcing nearly $70 million to advance the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils, to Italy and Austria pledging more funds to bolster the Great Green Wall in Africa. The momentum at COP16 in Riyadh sets a new benchmark for global land restoration and drought resilience. I would like to thank all the Parties for their hard work to make this extraordinary event and its conclusions possible, and express my appreciation to the Secretariat, and every single person who participated in COP16 for their tireless efforts and look forward to enhancing and intensifying our collective work over the coming weeks, months and years.”