ICARDA At Cop16 In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

04 December 2024, Saudi Arabia: Driving Solutions for Land Restoration and Drought Resilience at COP16

ICARDA will play a key role at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which will occur from December 2 to 13, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

This year’s conference, themed “Our Land. Our Future,” marks a historic moment as the largest UN land conference to date and the first held in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region—an area acutely impacted by desertification, land degradation, and drought.

COP16 comes at a pivotal time, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD and underscoring the urgency of global action to restore degraded land, build drought resilience, and promote sustainable land management through strategic partnerships and scientific leadership. 

Led by Aly Abousabaa, Director General of ICARDA and CGIAR’s Regional Director for CWANA, ICARDA will host events and participate in partner engagements throughout the conference to showcase its pioneering agri-science and help shape solutions for dryland challenges.

One of the highlights will be an event hosted by ICARDA and ICRISAT focused on the CGIAR 2030 Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands. This partner-led strategy harnesses the combined science expertise of CGIAR and its stakeholder network to deliver cutting-edge agri-innovation to improve livelihoods and ecosystems in dryland communities. 

Other pioneering initiatives will be featured as official UNCCD side events and at CGIAR’s Food & Agriculture Pavilion, including the ICARDA-led Integrated Desert Farming Systems (IDFS), which aims to transform arid landscapes into productive areas. Sessions will cover sustainable rangeland management for land restoration, drought, and water scarcity solutions, and the implementation of the CGIAR 2030 Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands. Additional events will focus on integrating climate resilience, peace, and food security in the MENA region, as well as linking seedbanks across scales to boost community empowerment. Finally, a joint discussion on land governance and food production will explore international collaboration for local solutions.

Our Events at COP 16

DATE	EVENT TITLE	HOST	LOCATION	LIVESTREAM
4 December 202411:00 – 12:30	Tackling Water Scarcity and Drought: Sustainable Solutions for Food Systems and Ecosystem Health in a Climate-Constrained World	ICARDA & IFPRI	Food & Agriculture Pavilion	Event Link
4 December 202414:00 – 15:00	Press Conference to Launch CGIAR’s 2030 Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands	CGIAR, ICARDA & ICRISAT	MET-17	Event Link
4 December 202415:00 – 16:30	Shaping a Sustainable Future: Implementing CGIAR’s 2030 Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands	CGIAR, ICARDA & ICRISAT	Food & Agriculture Pavilion	Event Link
4 December 202417:00 – 18:30	Bridging Global, National, and Local Seedbanks for Climate Resilience and Community Empowerment	ICARDA & Crop Trust	Food & Agriculture Pavilion	Event Link
5 December 20249:00 – 10:30	Harvesting Hope: Sustainable Desert Farming in  Drylands	ICARDA	UNCCD Official Side Event Hall	TBC
6 December 202409:00 – 10:30	Principles and Good Practices in Sustainable Rangeland Management for Land Restoration	ICARDA, the National Center for Vegetation Cover and UNCCD	MET-02	TBC

ICARDA Delegation:

• Aly Abousabaa - ICARDA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Central & Western Asia & Northern Africa (CWANA)

• Roula Majdalani – ICARDA Climate Change Advisor

• Michael Baum - ICARDA Deputy Director General & Research Team Leader

• Abdoul Aziz Niane – ICARDA Coordinator of the Arabian Peninsula Regional Program (APRP)

• Vinay Nangia - ICARDA Soils, Waters & Agronomy Research Team Leader 

• Zakaria Kehel – ICARDA Research Team Leader – Genetic Resources, conservation, characterization, and use (GRS) and Morocco Interim Country Manager

• Barbara Ann Rischkowsky – ICARDA Research Team Leader – Resilient Agrosilvopastoral Systems (RASP) and Social Economy and Policy Research (SEP)

• Mounir Louhaichi – ICARDA Research Team Leader of Rangeland Ecology and Forages

• Ajit Govind – ICARDA Senior Climate Scientist and Systems Modeler

• Azaiez Ouled Belgacem – ICARDA Rangeland Ecology and Management Specialist

• James Pursey – ICARDA Communications Unit Senior Manager

• Rhiannon Crichton – One CGIAR Platform Coordinator, Environmental Health and Biodiversity Impact Area

• Isbandiyar Valiev – ICARDA Resource Mobilization Officer  

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