Land is a critical resource at the heart of sustainable development, yet it is under threat from degradation, desertification, and the escalating impacts of drought. Each year, 100 million hectares of healthy land are lost, intensifying crises like food insecurity, water scarcity, forced migration, and biodiversity loss. Addressing these challenges, the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh, will bring together 197 Parties to accelerate land restoration and drought resilience.
At SAE Innova, we are honoured to have been invited to this significant venue, which aligns seamlessly with our mission and values. We will take part in the side event "Connecting Science to Practice – Engaging Rural Communities to Take Action Against Desertification".
We will join a roundtable discussion alongside COMMONLAND, SEKEM, and FARMS4CLIMATE, organised and facilitated by RURAL LOOP, each a close partner with whom we are collaborating on various EU projects dedicated to advancing soil health and landscape restoration.
Helmy Abouleish (SEKEM)
SEKEM will introduce its Economy of Love carbon farming scheme, which incentivises sustainable agriculture and ecosystem restoration in Egypt's desert landscapes.
Thoraya Seada
(Economy of Love)
Economy of Love is a carbon credits certification for smallholder farmers. Supported by Farms4Climate (PRIMA-funded), validating potential carbon schemes to accelerate the diffusion of regenerative farming in the Mediterranean.
Willem Ferwerda (Commonland)
Commonland will present its holistic landscape restoration model, highlighting how its multi-stakeholder approach has been successfully implemented across various ecosystems to drive long-term land regeneration.
Tristano Bacchetti
(SAE Innova)
SAE Innova will discuss its leading role in the EU Carbon Farming Summit, highlighting the need to embrace the broader view of sustainability beyond carbon, and its role in supporting Living Labs under the Soil Mission.
Ricardo Beck
(Rural Loop)
Rural Loop is the organiser and will facilitate the roundtable.
Event details:
Title:
Connecting science to practice - engaging rural communities to take actions against desertification.
Date and time:
Dec 5 - 09:00 a.m – 10:30 a.m (Local time - GMT+3)
Thematic Focus:
Climate finance and multi-actor dialogues in the agricultural sector as an approach to combat land degradation and desertification.
The event aims to showcase success stories on how to bridge the gap between scientific innovation and practical, on-the-ground solutions for rural communities facing desertification and land degradation. The roundtable will highlight the crucial role of establishing and nurturing multi-actor collaborations in developing and deploying sustainable, regionally adapted land management practices. Importantly, climate finance represents a growing opportunity to scale out nature-based solutions that contribute to combat desertification while removing greenhouse gases. However, it is increasingly evident that focusing on carbon is not enough to have land managers committed to practice implementation. In order to promote actions on the ground, current carbon standards need to be able to promote social and environmental co-benefits that are valued by farmers, and metrics and indicators to report these to financiers are needed.
Based on the experience of the experts of this roundtable, it is evident that standards that cover climate, environmental and social benefits are likely to better support rural communities in taking actions.
By linking these diverse initiatives, the event aims to contribute to COP16's goals by promoting strategies that accelerate land restoration, build drought resilience, and enable farmers to adopt regenerative practices. Rural Loop, as the central facilitator, will ensure that the discussion connects scientific research with practical solutions, offering a platform for knowledge exchange and the development of actionable pathways for desertification mitigation in line with the UNCCD's strategic objectives.