Riyadh, June 17, 2025

On this year's Desertification and Drought Day, held under the global theme “Restore the Land, Unlock Opportunities”, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once again positioned itself at the forefront of the global environmental agenda.

Hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), the virtual session convened leading national and international experts to address what is perhaps one of the most urgent andunderestimated crises of our time: land degradation.

In her keynote intervention, Dr. Phemo Karen Kgomotso, Senior Technical Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), laid out a sobering truth:

“Over 1.3 billion people worldwide rely on degrading agricultural land for their survival. This is not just an ecological emergency — it’s an economic, social, and human one.”

The data is staggering. Globally, land degradation causes an annual loss of $490 billion in agricultural GDP. Asia and Africa bear the heaviest burden, losing $84 billion and $65 billion respectively. Closer to home, the Arab region loses an estimated $9 billion each year.

But it was not a message of despair — it was a call to urgency and opportunity.

The Kingdom’s Vision: From Dust to Green

Representing the National Center for Vegetation Cover (NCVC), Mr. Roland presented the Kingdom’s roadmap to land restoration through the Saudi Green Initiative, which seeks to plant 10 billion trees and rehabilitate 40 million hectares of land.

This is no mere aspiration. With the creation of tools such as the Land Rehabilitation Manual, the Land Rehabilitation Watch platform, and a network of Living Labs, Saudi Arabia is building a robust ecosystem for nature-based solutions grounded in science, policy, and public engagement.

Every rehabilitation project is now invited to report its progress — not just to count trees planted, but to monitor ecosystems revived and lives transformed.

Restoration: A Path to Peace, Prosperity, and Resilience

Ms. Kgomotso emphasized that land restoration is not just about planting trees.
It’s about avoiding degradation, reducing harm, and actively reversing damage across urban centers, rural farmlands, and fragile natural ecosystems.

According to the UNCCD, every $1 invested in land restoration yields up to $8 in returns, including increased agricultural productivity, improved water retention, enhanced climate resilience, andstronger social cohesion.

Inaction, by contrast, comes at a far steeper price: nearly $878 billion per year in lost economic potential and deepened human suffering.