RIYADH: Drought costs the world more than $300 billion each year, the United Nations warned on Tuesday in a report published on the second day of international talks on desertification in Saudi Arabia.

Fuelled by “human destruction of the environment”, drought is projected to affect 75 per cent of the world’s population by 2050, the report cautioned.

It said the crisis has already exceeded $307 billion in costs annually around the globe.

“The economic cost of drought extends beyond immediate agricultural losses. It affects entire supply chains, reduces GDP, impacts livelihoods, and leads to hunger, unemployment, migration, and long-term human security challenges,” Kaveh Madani, a co-author of the UN report, said.

The warning coincides with a 12-day meeting in Riyadh for the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), seeking to protect and restore land and respond to drought amid ongoing climate change.

Reports find 40pc of the world’s land is degraded and frequent droughts increased by 29pc since 2000

The UN urged investment in “nature-based solutions” such as “reforestation, grazing management, and the management, restoration and conservation of watersheds” to cut the price of dessication and benefit the environment.

Marked by devastating droughts in Ecuador, Brazil, Namibia, Malawi and nations bordering the Mediterranean, which sparked fires and produced water and food shortages, 2024 is on course to be the hottest year since records began.

“Managing our land and water resources in a sustainable way is essential to stimulate economic growth and strengthen the resilience of communities trapped in cycles of drought,” Andrea Meza Murillo, a senior UNCCD official, said.

“As talks for a landmark COP decision on drought are underway, the report calls on world leaders to recognise the outsized, and preventable, costs of drought, and to leverage proactive and nature-based solutions to secure human development within planetary boundaries,” she added.

‘Land and drought goals’

Up to 40pc of the world’s land is degraded and droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, increasing by 29pc since 2000 due to climate change and unsustainable land management, the UN says.

This threatens agriculture, water security, and the livelihoods of 1.8 billion people, with the poorest nations bearing the brunt.

Scientists say drought worsens water and air quality and intensifies sand and dust storms, causing respiratory illnesses and disrupting electricity grids.

It can also harm food supplies when rivers dry up or food production becomes impossible because of water shortages.

Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of the UNCCD, said the summit should promote healthy lands and drought resilience to ensure food and energy security, human development and peace.

He said this COP16 had the largest-ever attendance, including delegates from the private sector and civil society, of any UN land and drought talks to date.

“Achieving land and drought goals is also essential to meet the global climate and biodiversity targets,” Thiaw said in an interview via email.

The Riyadh summit comes after UN talks on biodiversity in Colombia in October and the COP29 summit on climate change in November with the question of who pays to stem the worst effects of climate change taking top billing in all the discussions.

The Riyadh conference aims to accelerate investment and action in drought resilience and land restoration, building on agreements negotiated during the last summit in Ivory Coast in 2022.

“Given the urgency of the challenge, the gravity of the impacts, and the unique opportunity before us in Riyadh, I call on all parties to rise their ambition and solidarity for our lands and our future,” Thiaw said.

As the talks began, host and oil producer Saudi Arabia announced the creation of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership that will leverage public and private finance to support 80 of the most vulnerable and drought-hit countries around the world.

An initial $2.15 billion has been pledged to the partnership by Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Development Bank and the Opec Fund for International Development.

The research found investment in natural capital — the world’s natural resources — offered returns of $1.40 to $27 for every dollar spent within a couple of years.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2024