Drought, degrading land take centrestage at UN talks in Riyadh

Much of Earth's lands are drying out and damaging the ability of plant and animal life to survive, according to a United Nations report released Monday at talks where countries are working to address the problem. The report was released at the U.N. summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on combating desertification — once-fertile lands turning into deserts because of hotter temperatures from human-caused climate change, lack of water and deforestation. “This change is redefining life on Earth.” At the talks, which started last week and are set to end on Friday, nations are discussing how better they can help the world deal with droughts — a more urgent lack of water over shorter periods — and the more permanent problem of degrading land. UNCCD's chief scientist Barron Orr warned drier land could lead to “potentially catastrophic impacts affecting access to water that could push people and nature even closer to disastrous tipping points,” where humans are no longer able to reverse damaging effects of climate change. Andrea Toreti, one of the report’s lead authors, said addressing the issue — just like tackling climate change or biodiversity loss — will need countries to work better together.