Restoration actions urgent, as planet falls headlong in climate crisis
Amid compounding threats of war, climate, and economic crisis, heads of state and representatives from over 190 countries gathered last week in radiant Sharm El Sheikh, the Egyptian City of Peace, to push for faster and more ambitious climate action. During the meeting widely known as COP27, the side event “Regional Actions to Address Land Degradation, Strengthen Climate Change Resilience and Food Security”, that was jointly organized by PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area), UfM (Union for the Mediterranean), FAO (Food Agriculture Organization), and CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies), added to the momentum to raise awareness, discuss funding opportunities, and monitoring of regional actions to address sustainable land and water management (SLWM).
COP27 which stands for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), built on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on a range of issues critical to addressing the climate emergency – from urgently mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience, and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. During the Conference, PRIMA funded projects outline how deploying innovative solutions and SLM in Mediterranean demo areas can help prevent desertification and restore drylands. Prof. Pandi Zdruli of CIHEAM Bari showcased the PRIMA funded project REACT4MED (https://react4med.eu). The main outcome of the side event was that reducing land degradation risks while increasing food security, improving livelihoods, and increasing natural and climate resilience, requires immediate action, investments, and wide stakeholder involvement.
The “Regional Actions to Address Land Degradation, Strengthen Climate Change Resilience and Food Security” side-event was broadcasted online and is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tf-KElm68c&ab_channel=MediterraneanPavilion-COP27.