Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Fake-alcohol deaths highlight SE Asia's methanol problem    Netanyahu attacks ICC war crimes arrest warrants    KSrelief provided over $7bln to support children around the world    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    OMODA&JAECOO: Unstoppable global cumulative sales over 360,000 units    Saudi Arabia sees 73.7% rise in investment licenses in Q3 2024    9 erring body care centers shut in Riyadh    20,000 military emblems confiscated in Riyadh    Al-Samaani visits headquarters of Hague Conference on Private International Law    Al Hilal doesn't need extra support to bring new players, CEO says    Fate of Gaetz ethics report uncertain after congressional panel deadlocked    Indian billionaire Gautam Adani indicted in New York on fraud charges    Rafael Nadal: Farewell to the 'King of Clay'    Indonesia shocks Saudi Arabia with 2-0 victory in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Yemeni Orchestra's captivating performances in Riyadh, showcasing shared cultural legacies    Future of Ronaldo's Al Nassr contract remains undecided, says Saudi Pro League CEO    GASTAT report: 45.1% of Saudis are overweight    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Reversing land degradation can ‘pre-empt and manage' conflicts
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 18 - 09 - 2020

To help prevent conflicts and at the same time protect the planet, "we all must tackle environmental degradation," a top UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.
In a virtual briefing on the humanitarian impact of continued degradation, peace and security, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw, reminded the Council that environmental protection was vital for "our health, our wealth and our wellbeing".
"If we, in a coordinated way, avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation we can better prevent and preempt and manage many conflicts in the world," he maintained.
Shifting threats
The UNCCD chief outlined that today's threats have shifted from conflict between States to violence predominantly at the hands of non-state actors.
"An assessment of the root-causes of these conflicts shows that a large proportion have a link to the environment," he stated, pointing to the abundance of natural resources that can be monetized, such as oil, minerals and wildlife or "the scarcity of land, water and vegetation."
He noted that in arid lands, such as Africa's Sahel region, violence often erupts over competition for land.
Conflict causes
Ecosystem degradation, resource competition or inequitable distribution of benefits also increase vulnerability and raises the risk of conflict, according to Thiaw.
However, he attested, environmental cooperation can "increase capacity to conflict management, prevention and recovery".
He said security concerns were not limited to violent conflict but also includes "sustainable livelihoods, health and wellbeing".
The UNCCD chief asserted that rural-urban migration due to drought and desertification was additionally responsible for different types of violence.
"Grievances against government might rise when agricultural outcomes are depressed by drought and its induced-out migration", he said, as an example.
Risks outpacing solutions
Against the backdrop that the world relies on ecosystems rooted in soil, Thiaw said that the economy is influenced by the land's health, which "catalyzes the impact of environmental degradation on peace, security and stability".
And he explained that the world's capacity to address security risks driven by climate change and environmental degradation are not keeping pace with the changing landscape of threats.
Moving forward
Reducing environmental security risks should focus on "maintaining the earth's life-support ecosystem generating water, food and clean air" and on improving "resource governance and social resilience to natural resource shocks and stresses", he said.
He pointed out that protecting land could trigger a broad peace, stability and ecosystem recovery cycle, that yields "a constructive feedback loop extending far beyond an initial choice to protect the environment".
Tightrope of survival
In his briefing to the Council, Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), spelled out that "from the Sahel and Lake Chad region to war zones around the globe, millions are suffering on the front lines of environmental degradation, climate change and conflict".
He underscored that peace and security would not be established by focusing only on military and security measures to curb conflict and violence.
"We must ensure, those most at risk are urgent priorities", said the top ICRC official, adding that building and protecting resilient communities from violence is "critical".
Voice of youth
Also addressing the meeting, Inna Modja, Earth Ambassador and activist, said forced migration was increasing, causing many to flee the vast Sahel region, which stretches from west to east across Africa.
She encouraged the Council to invest in the region's "youth and women" as major "agents of change". — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.