At a time safeguarding the planet is at the heart of efforts exerted by the Saudi G20 presidency, an environment-focused event revealed on Thursday that approximately 1.5 billion people are affected by soil degradation.
The losses due to the decline in environmental services related to land degradation are estimated at 6 to 11 trillion dollars annually.
G20 Saudi Arabia is leading the international community in working toward minimizing land degradation and deforestation to conserve biodiversity and meet climate goals.
“We launched a global initiative to promote the rehabilitation of degraded lands and preserve current resources, targeting all countries of the world. It will be led by the G20,” said Saudi Deputy Minister for Environment Dr. Osama Faqeeha.
He said that the Saudi presidency is pursuing collective efforts and taking concrete actions to safeguard the planet.
The deputy minister said conserving the earth’s environment meant protecting marine and terrestrial environments and working towards reducing marine pollution such as plastic littering.
Faqeeha also spoke about preserving the oceans, saying that the human activity and climate change endanger the survival of coral reefs, which are vital for biodiversity.
Without concrete action, it is estimated that “a significant share of coral reefs is at risk,” he said. Coral reefs are under constant threat from pollution and habitat destruction, therefore conserving them “urgently important to ensure protection of our ecosystem.”
“We proposed launching a global initiative to preserve coral reefs,” Faqeeha reaffirmed, adding that the King Abdullah University offered to host the main headquarters for the initiative.
Moreover, land degradation affects about 60 percent of people directly or indirectly and contributes to massive habitat and ecosystem losses, Faqeeha added.
He explained that deforestation and other land use are also responsible for harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, Faqeeha discussed how climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges. The urgency to act increases as the world population continues to grow and emissions rise.
The Saudi G20 presidency is committed to advancing efforts for managing emissions in all sectors and improving synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions, including nature-based solutions such as reforestation and protecting and restoring marine resources.
“There has been significant appreciation of Saudi Arabia on environment preservation,” said the deputy minister.
