Namibia to benefit from global drought partnership

Namibia is set to benefit from the N$214.4-million Riyad Global Drought Resilience Partnership after the country joined it last week.

The partnership was unveiled at the 16th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which ended in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, last week.

Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism principal project coordinator and member of the UNCCD mid-term evaluation committee Kauna Schroder says the partnership is a bold initiative and promises to be a lifeline for drought-stricken nations – with Africa at the centre of this critical environmental challenge.

“The partnership emerges against a backdrop of increasingly severe climate impacts that have systematically undermined ecological and economic stability across the African continent and where the urgent need for comprehensive drought intervention is needed,” says Schroder.

She says that for Africa, drought is far more than an environmental concern, but an existential threat, with the continent having witnessed devastating cycles of water and food insecurities resulting in widespread hunger, forced migration, increased disease prevalence and significant socio-economic disruption.

She says the Riyad Global Drought Resilience Partnership represents a groundbreaking financial mobilisation, targeting over US$12 billion in funding from international organisations, governments and stakeholders.

Schroder was part of the Namibian delegation to the conference where Africa negotiated for the creation of the protocol on drought under the UNCCD and for transformative actions to address drought, desertification and land degradation.

The Riyad Global Drought Resilience Partnership’s strategic objectives include enhancing land restoration, strengthening drought resilience efforts and restoring 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.

Schroder says African countries have been at the forefront of calling for a holistic, multi-dimensional approach through management and working with a drought protocol.

She says the partnership represent more than a diplomatic initiative as it is a turning point for many developing nations grappling with the severity of drought.

The 10th Special Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment held in September this year in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, called for a legally-binding protocol on drought under the UNCCD, with a focus on Africa.

This call for action comes amid growing concerns over the detrimental impact of land degradation, drought and desertification on the continent’s socio-economic stability, food security and environmental sustainability.