UN Summit Highlights Land Degradation

• A United Nations report reveals that over three-quarters of the world’s land experienced drier conditions from 1970 to 2020 than the previous thirty-year period.

• The report highlights the damaging effects of drier climates on plant and animal life, affecting farming and food availability.

• The UN summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is focusing on combating desertification, where once-fertile lands are turning into deserts due to human-caused climate change, lack of water, and deforestation.

• The report warns that if global warming trends continue, nearly five billion people will be affected by the drying by the end of the century, up from a quarter of the world’s population today.

• Drier land could lead to catastrophic impacts affecting access to water, pushing people and nature closer to disastrous tipping points.

• The report also warns that aridity leads to more migration due to erratic rainfall, degrading land, and frequent water shortages, making it harder for regions or nations to develop economically.

• Negotiators in Riyadh are mainly discussing how best the world can respond to more frequent and damaging droughts.