12/1/2021

​H.E. Eng.Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and the UNCCD Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, have signed a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UNCCD to implement the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing the Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats.

The agreement includes providing financial support to implement initiative activities that aim to halve degraded land by 2040, as stipulated in Environment Ministers' Communique of the G20 in 2020, where this support will play a big role in realizing the goals of the initiative.

The G20 Global Initiative aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of land, complement, and support existing initiatives. To this end, the G20 Global Initiative will work in tandem with existing multilateral initiatives, and add momentum to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Eng. Al-Fadley said that the G20 Global Initiative will reduce land degradation, support biodiversity conservation, build resilience to and mitigate the effects of climate change and drought, as well as soil carbon sequestration, contribute to food security and provide incomes and jobs to local citizens. We hope this pledge of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia motivates governments, and the private sector to be part of the change we all want to see.

The minister also referred that we have a perfect opportunity to provide financial support to implement the global initiative, which highlights G20's commitment to lead in the global efforts to reduce land degradation and restore degraded land as well as to deliver multiple benefits at all levels.

Thiaw said that land degradation is a substantial and growing problem in the Middle East and across the world. The leadership of the G20 countries through this Global Initiative may become a watershed moment in the global to good land management and the restoration of balance with nature.

"The G20 Global Initiative brings to the table at least three new elements. First, it incentivizes the global community to tackle climate change, biodiversity losses and land degradation together. Second, it demands that while we think globally, we pursue inclusive solutions at the regional and national levels alongside indigenous and local communities, with their traditional knowledge at the heart of action. Third, it demands the engagement of the public and private actors," Thiaw added.