Thummarukudy: No Sustainable Development, Food Security without Land Reclamation

Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Thummarukudy: No Sustainable Development, Food Security without Land Reclamation

Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Four years have passed since the launch in Riyadh of the Global Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation during Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 in November 2020.
The initiative aims to achieve a 50 percent reduction in degraded lands by 2040, especially since this environmental phenomenon threatens the lives of millions of people and hinders sustainable development. United Nations desertification data indicate that more than two billion hectares of the world’s land are degraded, affecting half the world’s population. The international organization warns that if current trends continue, the world will need to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 to attain the Sustainable Development Goals.
Riyadh marked the World Environment Day 2024 on June 5 by focusing on land restoration, desertification, and drought resistance to restore the planet.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Initiative to Reduce Land Degradation at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, said that the great challenge to confront this phenomenon was the availability of funding, resources, money and technical expertise.
Thummarukudy, who is currently in Riyadh to participate in many environmental activities and seminars organized on the occasion of World Environment Day, talked about the goals of the initiative and the ongoing efforts in this regard.
Stressing that the main objective is to reduce 50 percent of degraded land globally by 2040, he said that land reclamation is the focus of the initiative, in addition to many sustainable development goals, including protecting the environment and eliminating hunger.
The official continued that 95 percent of all foods and 99 percent of calories consumed by the population come from the Earth. Thus, the work of the Global Land Reclamation Initiative has an impact on multiple sustainable development goals, especially for the Arab region, which suffers from land degradation, and faces food security and other challenges, he underlined.
Asked about the strategies, Thummarukudy pointed to capacity building to achieve land reclamation. In this context, he referred to a program within the initiative that aims to train people, youth, and experts.
He added that the initiative seeks to work with the private sector, which can play a major role in achieving land reclamation, as well as with local communities through capacity building.
Commenting on the role of Saudi Arabia, Thummarukudy said that the Kingdom has launched the entire idea of ​​the initiative under its presidency of the G20. He added that during the meeting of environment ministers, Riyadh was able to convince other members to put land reclamation at the top of the agenda.
As a result, other countries pledged to contribute to the initiative by providing technical expertise, support and governance, he remarked.
The official emphasized Saudi Arabia’s leading role in the field of land reclamation, not only within the Kingdom itself, but across the Middle East.
Regarding the main challenges facing the implementation of the G20 Global Land Initiative in developing countries, Thummarukudy pointed to the lack of national legislation and financing necessary for land reclamation, in addition to the need for technical expertise and concerned institutions.
The availability of funding, resources, money and technical expertise represents a major challenge, he stressed, adding that Arab countries can play a role in channeling both technical know-how and financial resources to achieve land reclamation.
On how the initiative deals with the effects of climate change on desertification and land degradation, and the sustainable solutions that are presented in this context, Thummarukudy said that the strategy promotes land restoration by all means, including soil restoration, legislation, plant diversity and soil organic matter, all of which contribute to reducing the effects of climate change.
The official referred to the creation of the Global Land Reclamation Database, a compilation of best available practices on land degradation globally. He added that within the initiative, hundreds of experts from around the world are being trained on various land topics, in areas as diverse as reclaiming mining areas, restoring vegetation using agricultural biotechnology, and using geospatial information for land management.
According to Thummarukudy, there are two main ways in which the private sector can contribute to achieving land reclamation. The first is concerned with providing financial resources to support land reclamation initiatives, and second, applying best practices in afforestation, agriculture, and mining, which will reduce land degradation.
Green initiatives, such as the Middle East Green Initiative and the Global Land Reclamation Initiative, all require the participation of a large number of private sector stakeholders to achieve the desired goals, he underlined.

 

 



Oil Extends Climb on Supply Fears, Trade War Concerns Cap Gains

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Extends Climb on Supply Fears, Trade War Concerns Cap Gains

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices inched higher on Tuesday after threats by US President Donald Trump to impose secondary tariffs on Russian crude and attack Iran, though worries about the impact of a trade war on global growth capped gains.

Brent futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $74.98 a barrel at 0645 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $71.70.

The contracts settled at five-week highs a day earlier.

"Near-term risks are skewed to the upside, with US threats of secondary tariffs on Russian and Iranian oil leading market participants to price for the risks of tighter oil supplies," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG, Reuters reported.

However, broader themes still revolve around concerns of upcoming tariffs weighing on global demand, along with prospects of increased supply from OPEC+ and the US, said Yeap.

A Reuters poll of 49 economists and analysts in March projected that oil prices would remain under pressure this year from US tariffs and economic slowdowns in India and China, while OPEC+ increases supply.

Slower global growth would dent fuel demand, which might offset any reduction in supply due to Trump's threats.

After news of Trump's threats initially boosted prices on Monday, traders told Reuters they viewed the president's warnings to Russia, at least, as a bluff.

Trump, on Sunday, told NBC News that he was very angry with Russian President Vladimir Putin and would impose secondary tariffs of 25% to 50% on Russian oil buyers if Moscow tries to block efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Tariffs on buyers of oil from Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, would disrupt global supply and hurt Moscow's biggest customers, China and India.

Trump also threatened Iran with similar tariffs and bombings if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the White House over its nuclear program.

"For now, it appears to be just a threat to Russia and Iran. However, if it becomes a reality, it creates plenty of upside risk to the market given the significant oil export volumes from both countries," said ING commodities strategists on Tuesday.

The market will be watching for weekly inventory data from US industry group the American Petroleum Institute later on Tuesday, ahead of official statistics from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

Five analysts surveyed by Reuters estimated on average that US crude inventories fell by about 2.1 million barrels in the week to March 28.