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The Riyadh Political Declaration emphasises the need for a holistic approach that integrates efforts to enhance land restoration and conservation, solutions will not be reached in silos. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ calls for a shift in the global approach to issues surrounding land and drought. These issues are connected to broader global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food security and pollution.

The unprecedented crises we are currently facing – Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification and Land Degradation – cannot and must not be ranked or prioritised. Failure to address any one of them risks making large parts of the planet unliveable. In this respect Nature-based Solutions present a proven synergistic pathway for immediate implementation.

Land degradation is the forgotten global crisis, with impacts that are making the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable even more precarious.

The impacts of drought are increasing in scale and severity across the world. The Global Drought Resilience Partnership will help leverage public and private finance to support drought-hit countries around the world. It can accelerate action to enhance drought prevention worldwide. We welcome the decision supporting restoration, conservation and sustainable management of rangelands. There is a need to scale up global action for sustainable rangelands and pastoralism to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality – we therefore support the initiative by Mongolia to form a Coalition for Rangeland States.

We know that action on land can lead to multiple benefits, not only to the billions of affected people, but also for nature and climate. This message was underscored during a high-level session on Building Synergies across the Rio Conventions through Nature-based Solutions in which Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥â€™s President participated alongside other dignitaries.

Elevating water management within the political agenda through the One Water Summit, which aimed to enhance global water governance, stimulated collaboration and partnerships across various sectors. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ emphasises the importance of addressing drought and land degradation by improving the resilience of our water systems.

This COP delivered key decisions on a number of matters such as land tenure, gender and sand and dust storms. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ welcomes progress made at COP16 towards the creation of a Caucus for Indigenous Peoples and a Caucus for Local Communities – to ensure representation of their unique circumstances and perspectives. ÌýWe also congratulate UNCCD and partners for the visible participation of youth during COP16.

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥'s voice was also heard at the Saudi Green Initiative, where we advocated for Nature-based solutions, like restoring ecosystems and improving soil health, which are among the most effective ways to mitigate climate impacts and strengthen resilience. We congratulate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UNCCD Secretariat on the hosting and organization of COP16 and their efforts to elevate the need to support land restoration and drought resilience.

As we confront the challenges of Climate Change, desertification and drought the urgent need for additional financial resources including those from the private sector is clear. Countries and people are suffering and financial means – especially for the more vulnerable States – are an indispensable requirement to achieve the results people and planet urgently need.

Nations were able to make progress toward building a future global drought regime, which we look forward to working with the Mongolian COP17 Presidency to complete in 2026.

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ welcomes the momentum gained over these past two weeks in Riyadh, and will Ìýcontinue to push the global agenda to address desertification, land degradation, and drought as the pressing priorities that they should be.

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