Billions Pledged for Drought Resilience & Land Restoration by Arab Coordination Group

More than US$12 billion has been pledged for drought resilience, land restoration, and combating land degradation at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

The Arab Coordination Group contributed an additional US$10 billion to address desertification, land degradation, and drought, according to a press release.

This follows the launch of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, with US$1 billion each from the OPEC Fund and Islamic Development Bank, and US$150 million from Saudi Arabia.

The pledges were made during the Ministerial Dialogue on Finance, a key segment of COP16 focused on unlocking public and private sector funding.

“With over US$12 billion pledged for major land restoration and drought resilience initiatives in just the first two days, COP16 in Riyadh is already proving a landmark moment in the fight against drought,” said Osama Faqeeha, deputy minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and advisor to the UNCCD COP16 Presidency.

“I hope this is just the beginning, and over the coming days and weeks, we see further contributions from international private and public sector partners, that further amplify the impact of vital drought resilience and land restoration initiatives,” Faqeeha added.

He also called for the redirection of Official Development Assistance funds to address land degradation and drought. “As shown by the UNCCD’s latest report, there is a dire need for additional international funding,” Faqeeha added.

Speaking on behalf of the Arab Coordination Group, Muhammad Al-Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group, said: “Recognizing the critical role of finance in advancing these efforts, we commit to allocate up to US$10 billion in financing approvals by 2030. These funds will target global land restoration, desertification prevention, and nature positive development projects aligned with the objectives of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership.”

The UNCCD’s latest financial needs assessment report revealed that US$355 billion annually is required from 2025 to 2030 to meet land restoration targets, but only US$77 billion in investments are projected.

On the second day of COP16 in Riyadh, the UNCCD released its financial needs assessment report, which also highlighted the private sector’s limited involvement. It contributes just 6 percent of global funding, despite the potential to generate up to US$1.8 trillion annually from restoring over one billion hectares of land.

As COP16 progresses, there is growing pressure for international stakeholders to close the financing gap and accelerate efforts to combat land degradation and boost drought resilience.