By Joyce Ojanji
The Kingdom of Saudi has announced the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, to leverage public and private finance to support 80 of the most vulnerable and drought-hit countries around the world.
An initial US $2.15 billion has been pledged towards the Riyadh Partnership by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (US$150 million), the Islamic Development Bank (US$1 billion) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (US$1 billion).
The announcement was made during the first day of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) as 197 Parties gather to address one of the world’s deadliest and costliest disasters.
Experts note that drought, intensified by climate change and unsustainable land practices, has surged by nearly 30 percent in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening agriculture, water security, and the livelihoods of 1.8 billion people, with the poorest nations bearing the brunt.
“The Riyadh Drought Resilience Partnership will serve as a global facilitator for drought resilience, promoting the shift from reactive relief response to proactive preparedness. We also seek to amplify global resources to save lives and livelihoods around the world,” said Dr Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudia Arabia and Advisor to the UNCCD COP16 Presidency.
Additionally, the Partnership will work to source additional funding through voluntary contributions by countries, financial institutions, and philanthropic organizations, among others. The financial and in-kind contributions help least-developed countries (LDCs) and lower-middle-income countries to unlock access to additional financing through blended financing such as concessional loans, commercial loans, equity participation, savings, insurance and other financial schemes.
“For Spain and Senegal, the co-chairs of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), promoting international cooperation is a key priority. We are working very hard to mobilize political momentum and resources for drought resilience all over the world. However, much remains to be done. This is why we welcome the Riyadh Partnership and its potential to mobilize additional resources for drought resilience with a focus on the least-developed countries and the lower-middle-income countries. We look forward to collaborating with Saudi Arabia and the UNCCD Secretariat to leverage synergies between IDRA and this new partnership,” said State Secretary of Environment of Spain, Hugo Morán.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed emphasized the growing challenges posed by land degradation and drought. “Never before have so many people been affected by land degradation and drought. 40 percent of fertile land is now degraded. And the results are dire: rising inequalities, people hungry, and people displaced. Livelihoods and businesses threatened, environments destroyed, and the foundation of peace, stability and security rocked. Based on current trends, by 2050, three in four people, will be affected by drought worldwide. But you are in Riyadh to turn the tide,” she noted.
Also, newly elected COP16 President Abdulrahman Alfadley, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, noted that degraded land already affects three billion people globally and will increase levels of migration, stability, and insecurity among many communities.
On the other hand, amid escalating global drought crises, the UNCCD, in collaboration with the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and partners, launched the World Drought Atlas, highlighting the systemic risks of drought across critical sectors like energy, agriculture, river transport and trade, using maps, infographics and case studies to showcase its cascading impacts on inequality, conflict and public health.
In addition, IDRA introduced the prototype International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO) — an AI-powered global platform designed to empower diverse stakeholders, from policymakers to communities, with actionable insights for building drought resilience. The full version of IDRO will debut at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia in 2026, marking a shift towards proactive drought management worldwide.
“Although a wealth of knowledge is emerging on drought resilience globally, it tends to be scattered and difficult to access. The Observatory will enable quick access to diverse expertise and tools needed to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to drought challenges. Connecting insights with powerful analytics, it delivers timely, actionable information while addressing critical gaps in risk and adaptive strategies,” Anna Dyson, Founding Director of Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture, explained.
The Drought Resilience + 10 Conference, held in Geneva from 30 September to 2 October 2024, concluded that “the increasingly systemic nature of drought requires new approaches, policy instruments and the operationalization of national drought plans along the lines of proactive and integrated drought management.’’
Therefore, it is expected that the negotiations among governments, culminating at UNCCD COP16, will result in robust commitments to strengthen community, national and international resilience to anticipate, respond to and recover from the impacts of impending or ongoing droughts, building on the policy options presented by the Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought established at COP 15.
