Events on 6 December during the 2024 UN Desertification Conference (UNCCD COP 16) focused on increasing the resilience of urban landscapes in arid regions and a just land transition.

One event addressed rethinking and restoring urban landscapes through initiatives related to, for example, mangrove ecosystem restoration and urban forestry. Examples provided during the event illustrated the power of urban action for land restoration that delivers economic and social benefits in addition to environmental gains. Speakers highlighted the role of city authorities in delivering commitments under the Rio Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and desertification and called for viewing local authorities as equal partners with national governments.

The importance of governance structures that enable participation of all stakeholders and the need to mobilize innovative and sustainable financing to support cities’ action plans were also highlighted. One speaker stressed the importance of integrating urban forestry plans into broader urban planning and budgeting processes, mentioning the Trees in Dry Cities Coalition, established at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in collaboration with the World Green Economy Organisation, which is creating a bankable pipeline of funding concepts for urban trees and nature in dry cities.

A panel discussion on leveraging urban restoration to deliver on the Rio Conventions highlighted:

• a model for redeveloping a derelict soccer stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, into a city park;
• that more than 85% of the world’s 1.2 billion young people live in societies that depend directly on land and natural resources;
• the need to plant indigenous rather than exotic plants in urban landscapes;
• new water technologies, such as fog harvesting, to augment water availability for urban planting; and
• that rebuilding from a major earthquake in the Apennine region in Italy provided the opportunity to introduce new technologies and innovations that help with climate adaptation and urban greening. 

One speaker emphasized urban planning that draws on spatial and community-based mapping to create green spaces that conserve biodiversity and improve basic services, such as planting trees for sandstorm prevention and recycling grey water for the irrigation of public spaces. The event was organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Another event delved into what is needed to achieve inclusive land restoration – a “just land transition”, which requires, as part of the mix, sustainable land management (SLM), land restoration in drylands, and women-led community action. Jordan’s HRH Princess Basma bint Ali, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North Africa, recalled that drylands are “not barren terrains, but are rather living, breathing spaces,” home to one in three people globally and rich in culture and tradition. The World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) discussed their contributions to this transition.

Persida Jankovic, Save Sinjajevina, Montenegro, described how pastoralists in this mountainous region have practiced a nomadic way of life based on sustainability principles for millennia, such as not grazing livestock in the spring, as this is when plants grow back. In 2019, the Government of Montenegro sought to use the Sinjajevina region as a military training and weapons testing facility; however, international push back, notably from the International Land Coalition, put this plan on hold. 

As another example, a community-based rangelands rehabilitation programme in Jordan did not disburse funds but rather provided training to herders in herd management and business development, which resulted in increased incomes and enhanced fire prevention through the restoration of ecosystem services. The event was organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and FAO.