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UN land conference advances new global architecture for drought resilience – EnviroNews
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By 2050, three out of four people worldwide could face drought. Responding to that challenge, the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) marked a significant step in translating global commitments into action, with initiatives that strengthen the way countries finance, measure and implement drought resilience.
Taken together, these developments reflect growing recognition that drought can no longer be managed as an isolated environmental challenge, but as a systemic risk requiring stronger governance, investment in preparedness, and coordinated action before drought impacts cascade into wider crises. The initiatives unveiled at COP17 are designed to help countries bridge the gap between drought plans and implementation.
Alongside negotiations on strengthening international cooperation on drought governance, COP17 is advancing practical initiatives that help countries finance, measure and implement drought resilience.
UNCCD Executive Secretary, Yasmine Fouad, said: “COP17 is about turning commitments into implementation. We now have stronger financing mechanisms, better tools and practical guidance to help countries prepare for drought before it becomes a crisis. The task now is to connect these pieces and put them to work at scale, through governments, development partners, financial institutions and the private sector.”
That commitment to implementation was reflected in a series of announcements and launches at COP17, including the advencement toward a global pooled fund for drought resilience in the most vulnerable countries, the launch of the world’s first catalytic financing platform for drought resilience, and the unveiling of the first Drought Resilience Index.
Dedicated financial mechanisms
A proposed pooled fund under the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership (RGDRP) is being developed to help around 70 low- and lower-middle-income countries strengthen drought resilience by supporting capacity-building, investment-ready programmes and financing for drought-resilience investments. The Partnership’s first Assembly of Partners during COP17, advanced discussions on the Fund.
Saudi Arabia, the RGDRP’s founding donor, pledged USD 150 million to the pooled Fund at COP16.
The Fund will be open to additional contributions from governments and donors, including through grants and official development assistance. It will complement separate financing from development banks and other partners, including USD 2 billion pledged by the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund at COP16.
The first Assembly of RGDRP Partners also advanced the transition from institutional set-up towards operational delivery, bringing together a broad coalition of governments, development banks, UN organizations and private-sector actors.
Dr. Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of Environment of Saudi Arabia, said: “Drought resilience is an urgent necessity; every dollar invested in drought preparedness pays off many times over when drought strikes. Saudi Arabia is proud to have established the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership during COP16 as an umbrella for international collaboration to strengthen drought resilience in vulnerable low- and lower-middle-income countries, with voluntary contributions from governments and the private sector. RGDRP will help countries develop and implement drought resilience plans by strengthening partnerships and leveraging innovation, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building.”
Water Day at COP17 marked the launch of the Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF), the first global catalytic financing platform dedicated to drought resilience. The initiative, co-created by UNCCD and the Government of Luxembourg with support from the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), will use public capital to reduce investment risks and unlock much larger flows of institutional and private finance for projects that strengthen water security, sustainable agriculture, nature-based solutions and land restoration.
Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, said: “Luxembourg’s EUR 5 million commitment to the Facility reflects a simple idea: public money can help bring much more private investment into areas where it is urgently needed. Together with the UNCCD, we want the Drought Resilience Investment Facility to turn promising ideas into investable projects and help bring them to scale. The aim is to make investment in drought resilience possible where the market alone would not get us there.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg provided an initial contribution of $2 million to help establish DRIF. Minister, Xavier Bettel, said: “As a founding partner of DRIF, Luxembourg is proud to help advance innovative solutions to drought, one of the most pressing challenges facing vulnerable communities worldwide. By bringing together public and private partners, DRIF will help channel investment towards solutions that reduce vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of communities, economies and ecosystems, while delivering environmental, social and financial returns. This initiative reflects our commitment to building resilience before drought becomes a crisis.”
The Facility, which aims to mobilize up to USD 400 million in public and private capital, announced its first strategic partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The objective is to explore opportunities for unlocking private and philanthropic finance through the GEF’s Blended Finance Programme.
Assessing drought resilience
Another milestone was the unveiling of Phase II of the International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO), the first global observatory dedicated to drought resilience. Developed by UNCCD with Yale Centre for Ecosystems and Architecture (Yale CEA) and partners under the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), the launch marks IDRO’s transition from the pilot version unveiled at COP16 to an online platform that can help countries move beyond monitoring drought hazards to strengthening their resilience.
At its core is the world’s first Drought Resilience Index (DRI), enabling countries to assess their capacity to anticipate, prepare for and adapt to drought while identifying vulnerabilities and informing more effective policies and investments. New AI-powered features can help policy-makers, technical experts and the public interpret complex data and turn it into practical insights.
Featuring eight in-depth country case studies across five continents, the platform is now open for review to users worldwide, whose feedback will help further refine the tool.
Moving forward, the focus will be on working with IDRA member countries to assess how the tool can inform and enhance their decision-making processes.
María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho, Director General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification, which co-chairs IDRA with Senegal, said: “As a Mediterranean country, Spain knows first-hand the economic, social and environmental costs of drought. Our experience has shown us that resilience cannot be built through isolated efforts. That is why Spain has invested in the development of IDRO and the Drought Resilience Index as part of the drive to proactively manage drought risk.”
COP17 as an opportunity
Speaking at the opening of the Ministerial Dialogue on Drought Resilience, UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad said: “We cannot continue to wait for drought to become a crisis before we act. We have the tools, partnerships and financial mechanisms to invest in preparedness, reduce losses and protect people and communities. COP17 must deliver a strong outcome on drought, backed by the means of implementation needed to turn ambition into action at national and local level, where drought resilience is ultimately built.”
For Mongolia, the host of COP17, the conference carries particular significance. Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral said: “The biggest change we want to see from COP17 is a shift from words to action, from targets to implementation, and from commitments to measurable results. Let us make drought resilience not only an environmental priority, but a core part of development policy.”
