What: Sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Who: African Development Bank, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

When: 2-13 December 2024

Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The African Development Bank will participate in the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2 to 13 December 2024. Under the theme "Our Land. Our Future". COP16, one of the major gatherings of the three core environmental treaties known as the "Rio Conventions", alongside climate change and biodiversity, marks the Convention's 30th anniversary and its first-ever session in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which faces acute challenges of desertification, land degradation, and drought.

The Riyadh COP16 will be the largest-ever meeting of UNCCD's 197 Parties and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by Saudi Arabia.

As a key observer and partner of the UNCCD, the African Development Bank will leverage COP16 to amplify Africa's voice and priorities on sustainable land management and resilience to drought and land degradation. Building on the success of UNCCD COP15 in Abidjan, where the Bank played a pivotal role in establishing the Africa Pavilion and advancing the Abidjan Legacy Program, the Bank's delegation will pursue a robust agenda to promote land restoration and sustainable development across the continent.

The African Development Bank will:

• Highlight Africa's priorities on desertification, land degradation, and drought through strategic engagements and leadership in key events.
• Co-host high-level events with the African Union and the UNCCD Secretariat, including the ministerial roundtable on mobilizing resources for the Great Green Wall initiative.
• Engage with the African Group of Negotiators on desertification and land degradation and other key stakeholders to strengthen the African common position, including advocacy for a legally binding Protocol on drought.
• Disseminate knowledge, highlight Bank's initiatives, and strengthen partnerships to scale up sustainable land management efforts globally, and particularly in Africa.

Key Engagements and Events

The Bank will lead and participate in the following activities, among others:

• High level ministerial event on "Mobilizing resources for the implementation of the Great Green Wall (GGW): Current Status and Way Forward" (3 December 2024): This event will highlight progress and impact since the One Planet Summit in 2021, including Bank's $ 6.5 billion contribution and investments in drought resilience and land restoration across Africa.
• Finance Day at UNCCD COP16 (11 December 2024): The Bank will contribute to sessions highlighting the critical need for innovative and sustainable financing as well as private sector financing to bolster drought resilience in Africa.
• Thematic Event on) "Scaling Up Land Restoration and Sustainable Land Use Planning: African Development Bank's Contribution to Combating Land Degradation" (12 December 2024): This event will spotlight the Bank's strategic initiatives in combating land degradation and promoting sustainable land use planning, and specifically address pressing challenges in drought-affected regions of Africa.
• Launch of the UNCCD Needs Assessment Report: The Bank will contribute insights. with various ministerial declarations, and other private sector contributions, aiming at promoting partnerships to accelerate funding for Africa's land restoration priorities
• Launch of the financing drought resilience program in the Horn of Africa,

High-level events will also include on 2 and 3 December, the "ministerial dialogue on drought resilience: Enhancing global and national policy instruments for a proactive drought management approach" and the ministerial dialogue on migration: Impacts of land degradation and drought on forced migration, security and prosperity.

Other thematic events will also be organized such as:

• The Land Day on 4 December focusing on the importance of healthy land;
• The Agri-food System Day on 5 December to highlight sustainable farming practices for resilient crops and healthy soils while protecting ecosystems
• People's Day on 7 December focusing on the role of youth, women and civil society in decision-making.
• The Resilience Day on 10 December, centering on policies and technologies to build resilience in the face of climate change.

• UNCCD COP16 webpage: https://www.unccd.int/cop16
• COP16 Country Host website: https://www.unccdcop16.org/
• Find more about Desertification and land degradation: https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/topics/desertification-and-land-degradation
• Find out more about Great Green Wall Initiative