To coincide with the start of the 16th Conference of the Parties to Combat Desertification in Riyadh today, the UN has published the most comprehensive global publication to date on drought risks and solutions: The new World Drought Atlas shows in dozens of maps, infographics and case studies where and to what extent different areas the earth is affected by drought and desertification and what factors are behind it. It illustrates how drought risks are interconnected across sectors such as energy, agriculture, inland shipping and international trade and how they can trigger cascading effects. The atlas also offers solutions and guidelines for more effectively combating droughts, soil degradation and their consequences.
The problem is not new: In response to the drought and famine catastrophe in the Sahel region in the 1970s, the first UN conference to combat desertification took place in Nairobi in 1977. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) came into force in 1994 – exactly 30 years ago. The aim of the convention is to slow down the progressive degradation and overuse of soils worldwide and thus also to stop desertification. From today, Monday, December 22, 2024, the 16th UNCCD Conference of the Parties will take place in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. But unlike the World Climate Summit or the Biodiversity Conference, the “Desert Summit” receives far less attention, especially in the Western world – and wrongly so. Even though the desertification and degradation of soils often progresses gradually and is therefore less visible than heavy rain, floods or other extreme weather events, the consequences are dramatic.
“World Drought Atlas is a wake-up call”
The UN’s new World Drought Atlas now shows what the problem of drought is and its causes. Published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the European Commission Research Center (JRC), the publication is the most comprehensive global publication to date on the risks and causes of drought, as well as their solutions. The World Drought Atlas demonstrates the systemic nature of drought risks through dozens of maps, infographics and case studies. It illustrates how drought risks are interconnected across sectors such as energy, agriculture, inland shipping and international trade and how they can trigger cascading effects. The atlas shows these impacts of drought in five key areas – water supply, agriculture, hydropower, inland waterways and ecosystems. It also contains 21 case studies from around the world and shows that no country – regardless of its size, gross domestic product or geographical location – is immune to drought, including Europe.
“This World Drought Atlas is a wake-up call,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD. “It reminds us that droughts know no borders and no region or country, regardless of its level of development, is immune to their effects. It also reminds us that our actions have far-reaching consequences – for all of us. The more the world becomes interconnected, the more we share the risks.” Climate data shows that droughts have increased by 29 percent since 2000 and are already among the costliest and deadliest natural hazards in the world. It is predicted that three out of four people worldwide could be affected by drought by 2050. “Desertification is not only a problem in distant regions such as the Sahara, but also affects parts of Europe, especially the Mediterranean region,” comments Kathleen Hermans from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) in Halle an der Saale. In Spain, around three quarters of the country is affected by desertification risks, while in Portugal over half of the country is at risk and in Italy almost 60 percent of the area has medium to high vulnerability.
Networked causes, but also solutions
The causes of increasing droughts are complex. On the one hand, climate change plays a role because it means that in some areas there is an increasing lack of precipitation or intense dry periods are increasingly alternating with heavy rain. In many cases, however, it is human intervention in the landscape and soil that leads to soil degradation, water shortages and drying out. “Human activities drive or exacerbate droughts and their impacts on society. This is clearly presented in the atlas and is based on scientific literature and examples from around the world,” says Marthe Wens from the Institute for Environmental Studies at the Free University of Amsterdam. An example is the overuse of groundwater and other water resources through intensive agriculture or tourism. But deforestation and overgrazing also contribute to desertification and droughts, as the Drought Atlas shows. For example, he shows how the products we use in Europe can, through their global supply chains, exacerbate the effects of droughts in distant regions and cause water stress.
The Drought Atlas also describes concrete measures and ways to reduce drying and systemic drought risks and to help affected regions adapt. Specifically, the experts see starting points in three categories. The first concerns governance measures, for example through better early warning systems, microinsurance for small farmers, pricing systems for water consumption and the like. A second starting point is land use management, where unsustainable practices, for example in agriculture, are avoided and replaced by more resilient forms such as agroforestry. The renaturation of areas can also counteract drying out. The third catalog of measures relates to water use: For example, by reusing wastewater more consistently and saving water, the lowering of the groundwater level and the overuse of natural water resources can be curbed. “The World Drought Atlas challenges governments, business leaders and decision-makers at all levels to radically rethink how they make decisions and manage drought risks,” says Thiaw. “I call on all nations, and in particular UNCCD Parties, to take the findings of the Atlas seriously. At UNCCD COP16, Parties could change the course of history towards drought resilience. Let us seize the moment knowing that the Atlas points the way to a more resilient future for all.”
Source: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); World Drought Atlas