The Cook Islands will be represented at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2 to 13 December 2024.
The COP16 theme is ‘Our land. Our Future’. UNCCD is a landmark event focused on raising global ambition and action on land and drought resilience. The collection actions at COP will be focused on restoring degraded land, strengthen drought preparedness, and scaling up of nature-positive food production. As the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated ‘We depend on land for our survivial. Yet, we treat it like dirt.”
In preparation for the UNCCD COP16, a regional preparatory meeting was held for the Asia-Pacific Region and hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sandee Cook, Environmental Partnerships Coordinator, attended this meeting to review key issues and identify priorities. Regional preparatory meetings help countries within our region align their priorities with the global agenda and be better prepared for COP.
The Cook Islands’ participation in COP16 and the regional preparatory meeting demonstrates its commitment to addressing land degradation and drought, and to working collaboratively with other countries in the region to promote sustainable land management practices and secure a sustainable future for the Pacific.
The Cook Islands UNCCD COP16 delegation will be attended by representatives from the National Environment Service (NES), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) and Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). Outcomes from UNCCD COP16 will be shared with the public following the conclusion of this important meeting at the end of the year.
