Riyadh: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Cabinet Member, and Climate Envoy Adel Al-Jubeir reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to addressing land degradation, which is not confined to desertification and arid regions but is a global challenge affecting all humanity, at the ministerial dialogue session “Impacts of Land Degradation and Drought on Forced Migration, Security and Prosperity,” held on the sidelines of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Riyadh.
According to Saudi Press Agency, Al-Jubeir highlighted the repercussions of land degradation, which include food insecurity, migration, and the emergence of conflicts. He stressed the importance of unified efforts to combat land degradation, adding that the Kingdom is collaborating with the international community to tackle this challenge for a better planet.
He pointed out that approximately 100 million hectares of land are degraded globally annually, and the goal is to rehabilitate 50%
of degraded lands by 2040.