Azerbaijani ecology minister attends COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has officially kicked off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Azerbaijan is represented at the event by Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev, Caliber.Az reports.

The focus of the conference is to further develop cooperation for sustainable land management, building on the success of COP29 held in Baku.

The COP16 conference is set to run until December 13, with discussions aimed at addressing global issues related to desertification, land degradation, and drought.

UNCCD COP 16 is more than a critical milestone – it represents a moonshot moment to raise global ambition and accelerate action on land and drought resilience through a people-centered approach. 

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is the global voice for land and one of the three major UN treaties known as the Rio Conventions, alongside climate and biodiversity.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the main decision-making body of UNCCD’s 197 Parties – 196 countries and the European Union.

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of UNCCD, COP16 will be the largest UN land conference to date, and the first UNCCD COP held in the Middle East and North Africa region, which knows first-hand the impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought.

COP16 is poised to be a game-changer, marking a renewed global commitment to accelerate investment and action to restore land and boost drought resilience for the benefit of people and planet.

By Vafa Guliyeva