Dubai, Jan 31 (PTI) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Wednesday signed an agreement paving the way for the 16th session of the Convention's Conference of the Parties (COP16) here from December 2-13.

According to UNCCD data, up to 40 per cent of the world's land is degraded, affecting half of humanity and with dire consequences for our climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. If current trends continue, restoring 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030 will be necessary to achieve a land-degradation-neutral world.

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Droughts are hitting more often and harder all over the world—up by 29 per cent since 2000—driven by climate change but also the way we manage our land. One-quarter of the world's population is already affected by droughts, with every three out of four people around the world projected to face water scarcity by 2050.

"The Riyadh COP16 will be the largest-ever meeting of UNCCD's 197 Parties, the first to be held in the Middle East region and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by Saudi Arabia," said a release from the UNCCD.

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At the signing ceremony, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the COP16 President, said: “The hosting of the conference (COP16) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reflects the commitment of the wise leadership to environmental protection at the national, regional, and international levels."

UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said: “Today, we are losing fertile lands at an alarming rate, jeopardizing global stability, prosperity and sustainability. The Riyadh COP16 must mark a turning point in the way we treat our most precious resource—land—and collectively tackle the global drought emergency.”

Year 2024 also marks the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, one of the three major environmental treaties known as the Rio Conventions, alongside climate change and biodiversity.

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