Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) spoke at the opening ceremony COP16 A major global conference takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where a new global drought regime is expected to be agreed, which will promote a shift from passive relief response to preparedness. proactive.
Here’s what you need to know about drought.
Droughts are increasing in frequency and intensity
Drought is a natural phenomenon, but in recent decades has been exacerbated by climate change and unsustainable land management practices. Their numbers have increased nearly 30% in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening the agriculture, water security and livelihoods of 1.8 billion people, with the poorest countries bearing the brunt. .
Availability of water is essential to stem migration in places like Western Nigeria.
They can also lead to conflicts over dwindling resources, including water, and large-scale displacement of people as they migrate to more productive lands.
No country is immune
In the past three years alone, more than 30 countries have declared drought emergencies, from India and China, to high-income countries such as the US, Canada and Spain, as well as Uruguay, South Korea and Spain. Africa and even Indonesia.
A ship passes through the Panama Canal in Central America.
The drought hampered grain shipments on the Rhine River in Europe, disrupted international trade through the Panama Canal in Central America and led to power cuts in the South American nation of Brazil, which depends on the water. with more than 60% of the power supply.
Firefighters were even called to an urban park in New York City, USA in the winter of November 2024 to tackle a wildfire after weeks without rain.
“The drought has expanded into new territories. UNCCD’s Ibrahim Thiaw said no country is immune, adding that “by 2050, three in four people globally, up to seven and a half billion people, will feel the impact of drought”. .
domino effect
Droughts are rarely limited to a specific location and time and are not simply caused by a lack of rainfall but are often the result of a complex series of events caused or amplified by climate change, as well as sometimes due to poor land management.
For example, a deforested hillside will immediately degrade. Soils will lose their resilience to extreme weather and will become more susceptible to drought and floods.
And, once they strike, they can trigger a series of catastrophic domino effects, intensifying heat waves and even floods, multiplying the risks to people’s lives and livelihoods with devastating consequences. long-term economic, social and human loss.
As communities, economies and ecosystems suffer the devastating effects of drought, their vulnerability increases the next time around, creating a vicious cycle of land degradation and underdevelopment. develop.
Drought is a development and security issue
About 70% of the world’s available freshwater resources are held by people who depend on the land, most of whom are subsistence farmers in low-income countries with limited livelihood options. Around 2.5 billion Among them is youth.
Without water there is no food and no jobs on land, which can lead to forced migration, instability and conflict.
“Drought is not simply an environmental issue,” said Andrea Meza, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCCD. “Drought is a development and human security issue that we must urgently address from all sectors and levels of governance.”
Plan for greater resilience
Droughts are also becoming more severe and more rapid due to human-caused climate change and poor land management, and too often, the global response to this phenomenon remains reactive. More planning and adaptation is needed to build resilience to extreme conditions as water supplies dwindle, and this often occurs at the local level.
A beekeeper collects honey in southern Haiti.
In Zimbabwe, a youth-led grassroots organization is aiming to regenerate soil by planting one billion trees across the southern African country, while a growing number of farmers on the regional island of Haiti The Caribbean turned to beekeeping in an effort to ensure that the trees the bees rely on are not cut down in the first place. In Mali, a young female entrepreneur is creating a livelihood and building resilience to drought by promoting moringa products.
Experts say proactive initiatives like these could prevent enormous human suffering and are much cheaper than interventions focused on response and recovery.
What’s next?
At COP16, countries are coming together to agree on how to collectively address the increasingly severe drought situation and promote sustainable land management.
Two important pieces of research were launched on opening day.
the Atlas of world droughts describes the systemic nature of drought risks, illustrating how they are interconnected across sectors such as energy, agriculture, river transport and international trade, and how they can cause cascading effects, fueling inequality and conflict and threatening public health.
the Drought Resilience Observatory is an AI-based data platform for drought resilience created by International Drought Alliance (IDRA), a UNCCD-led coalition of more than 70 countries and organizations committed to drought action.
How much will it cost?
A United Nations estimate suggests $2.6 trillion in investment is needed by 2030 to restore land worldwide affected by drought and mismanagement.
At COP16, an initial commitment of $2.15 billion was announced to fund the Riyadh Global Drought Partnership.
“It will serve as a global enabler for drought resilience, promoting transformation,” said Dr. Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia. change from passive relief response to proactive preparedness. to amplify global resources to save lives and livelihoods around the world.”
