LocationsInvesting in climate action for a healthier and more resilient future
June 4, 2026
The impacts of climate change are exacerbating existing challenges and reversing hard-won development gains across the Arab region.
The impact of climate change is increasing rapidly the frequency and intensity of disasters, which is eroding the adaptation and recovery capacities of the population. While climate change may not, cause conflict, it can exacerbate many of its latent drivers, reinforcing inequalities in access to scarce natural resources and livelihood insecurity, overburdening institutional capacities, diminishing eco-system services, increasing forced migration, and fueling underlying inter-communal tensions and grievances.
By 2030, the region is expected to experience declining precipitation, significantly higher average temperatures, and increased seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers as sea levels rise and groundwater overexploitation continues.
Through its climate adaptation and resilience initiatives, the United Nations Development Programme supports countries across the region in responding to these challenges, promoting climate action, and building a more sustainable future.
This year, the theme of World Environment Day 2026 is "Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future."
To mark this occasion, we take a closer look at how countries across the Arab region are addressing climate change and advancing innovative solutions for a more resilient and prosperous future.
Egypt
Climate solutions are most effective when they build on the knowledge, experience, and trust of local communities. In Egypt, UNDP implemented a project— implemented in partnership with Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and funded by the Government of Japan.
Through the ‘Making Egypt’s Communities & AgriFood Systems Resilient‘ project, implemented by UNDP Egypt in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and, Economic Development and funded by the Government of Japan, 77 women and men farmers participated in training on climate-smart agriculture, digital tools, and financial inclusion over three intensive days.
As climate risks continue to affect agricultural communities across Egypt, practical adaptation solutions are becoming increasingly important. The Delta, one of the most vulnerable areas in Egypt, offers valuable examples of how local knowledge can help communities adapt to challenges such as sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding.
Farmers in the Delta had protected their land using simple reed fences made from locally sourced reeds from Lake Burullus. These fences broke strong winds, trapped sand, and gradually formed small dunes that reduced flooding.
UNDP Egypt has collaborated with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation & the Green Climate Fund to implement this project: ‘Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation in the North Coast and Nile Delta Regions in Egypt’. Egypt’s experience demonstrates that co-creating solutions with the people who face climate challenges every day is essential to achieving sustainable development, strengthening resilience, and contributing to a healthier planet for future generations.
Somalia
Decades of insecurity, political instability, drought and food insecurity have disrupted desperately needed services, devastated human capital and physical infrastructure, and contributed to systematic impoverishment and displacement of the population.
Somalia’s water crisis remains severe: almost half of the population (48 percent) do not have access to basic water supply, while rural households often rely on private water tankers costing up to US$6 per barrel per day — a cost unattainable for the 67 percent of Somalis who are multidimensionally poor. Many villages depend on unsafe water stored in open berkads, exposing families to health risks year-round.
To help address these challenges, UNDP Somalia has collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to deliver a coordinated response to years of prolonged drought, climate variability, and limited water infrastructure. Through this partnership, solar-powered boreholes have been installed to provide reliable and sustainable access to safe water for drought-affected communities.
With the completion of two new solar-powered boreholes in Awrboogays, Sanaag, and Bacadweyn, Galkayo, more than 23,000 people now have access to safe drinking water. The boreholes have been handed over to local communities, expanding water access across four drought-affected districts in rural Somalia.
“I am very happy to see the newly completed borehole. Life will be easier for us and our children,” said Faadumo, a resident of Bacadweyn.
Similarly, with an aim to address Somalia’s climate-induced vulnerabilities, UNDP Somalia in collaboration with the Federal Government of Somalia and with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), has launched a major national initiative to strengthen resilience to climate-related disasters through the establishment of an inclusive and people-centered Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) under the Advancing Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) initiative. The project aims to reduce disaster-related fatalities in Somalia by 42% by the end of the project cycle in 2030.
Somalia's experience highlights how innovative, climate-resilient solutions can help vulnerable communities adapt to the growing impacts of climate change. By investing in sustainable infrastructure and working closely with local communities, climate action can deliver lasting benefits for people, livelihoods, and the environment.
Sudan
Arbaat Dam lies on Khor Arbaat, a seasonal valley descending from the Red Sea Hills north-west of the city. Built in 2003, the earth dam was designed to capture flash floods during the rainy season and to recharge the groundwater aquifer that supplies a downstream wellfield. Together with several smaller dams, the system once met up to half of Port Sudan’s daily water demand.
Extreme flooding caused the dam to fail, releasing a surge of water mixed with silt and debris. Villages downstream were destroyed, farmland damaged and lives lost. The flood wave also ripped through the water network, displacing pipelines, damaging electrical connections and burying boreholes under mud. What remained was a fractured system unable to deliver water to a city of more than one million people.
In response, UNDP Sudan worked with national and state authorities to assess the damage and identify interventions that could restore supply quickly, and at scale, to rebuild core infrastructure.
In the Arbaat wellfield, 15 boreholes were drilled or rehabilitated, 17 kilometers of new pipeline were laid to reconnect the wells to the main transmission line serving Port Sudan, and 10 flowmeters were installed to improve monitoring and management of distribution. All boreholes were equipped with solar-powered pumping systems to reduce dependence on fuel and unreliable grid power. This also allows water to be pumped even during power cuts and lowers operating costs for the state water authority.
From Darfur to South Kordofan, and from Blue Nile up to Red Sea State, UNDP is supporting the construction and repair of water sources, the rehabilitation of pipelines and the upgrading of irrigation schemes, with 290 drinking water projects underway or already complete, as well as 49 irrigation projects and 28 canals.
Syria
Ghaitha’a, a 40-year-old economics graduate and mother of three, returned to her village, Rabiea, on Syria’s coast. Like many families displaced by years of conflict, she left behind a home, farmland, and the community that had once shaped her life.
Seeking to rebuild what she had lost and support her family, she joined UNDP’s Women-led Initiatives for Climate Adaptation project, supported by the Funding Windows, Denmark.
Through this initiative, women in Rabiea received training in climate-adaptive agricultural practices, such as conservation farming, composting, and water harvesting. The programme also included sessions on non-violence communication, self-care, leadership and gender awareness.
Ghaitha’a joined other women in Rabiea to launch a small reforestation initiative. Together, they planted laurel trees on nearby hillsides that had been damaged by conflict and wildfires.
“Planting trees gave people something positive to work on together,” she says. “It helped rebuild connections.”
Ghaitha’a continues to advocate for improvements in her village. She has met with local authorities to raise concerns about roads, schools and support for farmers.
Yemen
Years of adverse impacts from climate change have taken their toll in Yemen. Irrigation systems collapsed, wells ran dry, and without affordable diesel to power pumps, fields were left barren. Drought and soil degradation compounded the crisis, and farmers were forced to witness their crops fail and dreams of abundance fade.
For generations, the farmlands of Al-Gharega Village, in Tur Al-Baha, Lahj Governorate, Yemen, served as a vital source of food, income, and identity.
For 40 consecutive growing seasons (19 years), residents like Anwar and Osama, a farmer and university lecturer, struggled to grow anything on their land.
In response to this prolonged crisis, the World Bank-funded Yemen Food Security Response and Resilience Project (FSRRP), implemented by UNDP Yemen in partnership with the Social Fund for Development (SFD), launched an agricultural intervention aiming to protect and revive the land again. The goal was to rehabilitate the collapsed irrigation network to restore access to water and protect farmland, thereby strengthening the community’s resilience to climate change.
A new 360-metre irrigation canal has since brought life back to 110 hectares of farmland, directly supported 280 farmers, and created 395 temporary jobs through construction.
“Before the project intervention, our lands were barren. The soil cracked and thorny plants took over. Farmers lost hope,” recalls Anwar, 50, a lifelong farmer in Al-Gharegah.
“The project helped us regain control of our land,” Osama reflects. “We’ve gone from isolated farmers to a community of cultivators working together again.”
Farmers are not just cultivating food; they’re nurturing hope.
The project has reawakened a sense of dignity and agency among the farmers to support Yemen’s rural communities and food security.
Climate action for a more resilient future
Across the Arab region, communities are facing the growing impacts of climate change—from water scarcity and drought to flooding and environmental degradation. We must work together with our partners to turn the challenges into opportunities to build resilience, restore ecosystems, and create sustainable livelihoods. We must encourage people across the Arab region to step in to have a crucial role to protect our environment for a healthier life.
The stories of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen demonstrate that climate action provides a tangible pathway toward a more resilient future.
As we mark World Environment Day 2026 under the theme "Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future.", we are reminded that lasting progress depends on collective action. Together with governments, communities, development partners, and local institutions, we must continue investing in innovative and sustainable solutions that protect our environment, accelerate climate action, and build a more resilient and prosperous future for all.
