By AFP - Agence France Presse
Saudi Arabia hosts UN debates on drought and desertification.
Robbie COREY-BOULET and Sofiane ALSAAR
Saudi Arabia will host the UN COP16 conference on land degradation and desertification next week, as the largest oil exporter presents itself as a defender of the environment despite criticism of its role in climate negotiations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) a “moon moment” to protect and restore land and respond to drought.
Activists have accused Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, of trying to weaken calls to phase out fossil fuels at last week's UN COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan.
However, the issue of desertification is very important for the Gulf kingdom, which has one of the largest deserts on the planet.
“We are a desert country. We are exposed to the most severe form of land degradation, which is desertification,” Deputy Environment Minister Osama Faqeeha told AFP.
“Our land is arid. Our rainfall is very low. And that's the reality. And we've been dealing with it for centuries.”
Land degradation disrupts ecosystems and makes land less productive for agriculture, leading to food shortages and encouraging migration.
Land is considered degraded when its productivity has been impaired by human activities such as pollution or deforestation. Desertification is an extreme form of degradation.
- 'Under the radar' -
The last meeting of the parties to the convention, in Côte d'Ivoire in 2022, produced a commitment to “accelerate the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030”.
But the UNCCD, which brings together 196 countries and the European Union, now says that 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) must be restored by the end of the decade to combat crises, including increased droughts.
Saudi Arabia aims to restore 40 million hectares of degraded land, Faqeeha told AFP, without specifying a timetable. He said Riyadh envisages restoring “several million hectares of land” by 2030.
So far, 240,000 hectares have been reclaimed through measures that include banning illegal logging and expanding the number of national parks from 19 in 2016 to more than 500, Faqeeha said.
Other ways of restoring land include planting trees, crop rotation, pasture management, and restoring wetlands.
The COP29 climate talks yielded a hard-won $300 billion climate finance agreement that the poorest nations, most at risk of worsening disasters, considered insultingly low.
UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw told AFP that he hoped COP16 would result in an agreement to speed up land restoration and develop a “proactive” approach to droughts.
“We have already lost 40% of our land and soils,” said Thiaw.
“Global security is really at stake, and you see that all over the world. Not just in Africa, not just in the Middle East.”
Faqeeha said he hoped the talks would bring more global awareness to the threat posed by degradation and desertification.
“If we continue to allow the land to degrade, we will have huge losses,” he said.
“Land degradation is now a major phenomenon that is happening under the radar.”
Saudi Arabia's high oil production, which results in sky-high profits for oil giant Aramco, routinely draws the ire of climate activists.
However, his exposure to desertification could give him more credibility during the negotiations in Riyadh.
“With the fight against desertification, (Saudi Arabia) is not necessarily contributing directly to the problem, whereas with climate change, it is,” said Patrick Galey, senior fossil fuels researcher at Global Witness.
“Saudi Arabia can, with some legitimacy, claim that it is defending the little guy when it comes to desertification because it is directly affected.”
- Freedom of expression -
Thousands of delegates have registered to attend the December 2-13 talks in Riyadh, including “around 100” government ministers, Thiaw said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend the One Water Summit, which will run parallel to COP16 on December 3.
Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been criticized for increasing repression, even as the kingdom pursues radical social reforms aimed at attracting tourists and investors.
As it is a UN-organized event, civil society, including activists, will be able to participate, although it is unclear whether protests - a rarity in the kingdom - will be allowed.
Saudi Arabia expects strong and “constructive” participation from civil society at COP16, Faqeeha said.
“We are welcoming all constructive engagement,” he told AFP, while Thiaw said all groups would be welcome to contribute and express themselves.
“According to UN rules, of course, there are rules of engagement, and everyone is guaranteed freedom of expression,” Thiaw said.
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