NEW YORK — Eng. Abdulrahman Alfadley, Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture and incoming President of UNCCD COP16, convened leading global experts and policymakers on land degradation, drought, and desertification for the first Advisory Council meeting in preparation for the upcoming UNCCD COP16, set to take place in December in Riyadh.

Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), shared key insights with the Advisory Council, which includes former heads of state and renowned environmental activists such as Tarja Halonen (Finland), Iván Duque Márquez (Colombia), Carlos Alvarado Quesada (Costa Rica), Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Chad), and Nasser Baker Al Kahtani (AGFUND). Also on the council but unable to attend were Macky Sall (Senegal), Nadya Obeid (CEDARE), and André Hoffmann (Roche Holding).

Saudi Arabia was represented by Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Affairs Envoy, and Dr. Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of Environment and Advisor to the UNCCD COP16 presidency.

The council discussed the vital importance of land to human and planetary health and the urgent need to raise awareness about the economic, social, and environmental impacts of land degradation, desertification, and drought. — SG