Riyadh Action Agenda
A global platform, mobilising ambitious, voluntary commitments and action from governments and non-state actors, to conserve and restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030 – helping deliver a prosperous future for all.
Save our land, now
Nearly half of the world’s land - vital for people, the climate and biodiversity - is degrading at record speed.
The stakes are high. Half of humanity is already affected, and by 2050, droughts could impact over 75% of the global population, and scarce land resources could displace up to 700 million people.
We can spare no time or effort. By 2030 we must conserve and restore 1.5 billion hectares of land, boost drought and water resilience; promote sustainable agri-food systems – and mobilise the finance towards these goals. And we must start now.
The Riyadh Action Agenda connects state and non-state actors to drive voluntary and coordinated action on land conservation, restoration, drought and water resilience, agri-food systems, and on the prevention of land degradation.
People-centred
The Riyadh Action Agenda, seeks to elevate the voices, perspectives and knowledge of those on the frontline of land degradation, drought and desertification.
The Riyadh Action Agenda drives progress toward shared goals and objectives in three critical action areas.
United by shared goals
Conserve
and Restore
Land
To meet the UNCCD goal of achieving land degradation neutrality, by restoring 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Enhance Drought
and Water
Resilience
Meet the UNCCD goal of enhancing resilience to drought by protecting 30% of lands and inland waters, directly benefiting at least 500 million people.
Promote Sustainable,
Resilient, and Inclusive Agri-Food Systems
To meet the UNCCD goal of restoring 250 million hectares of degraded agricultural land by 2030, improving soil health; fostering landscape-level approaches; repurposing public policies; and supporting and promoting holistic food systems-based approaches.
Driving real-world solutions
The Riyadh Action Agenda identifies ways to address barriers, accelerate action and drive measurable progress through practical solutions and collaborative partnerships.
Mobilise Finance and Resources
Ramp up investable pipelines; deploy insurance at the land user level; increase insurance and guarantees to de-risk investment; increase use of instruments such as carbon markets and new resilience credits; and expand the deployment of debt solutions such as KPI-linked bonds and debt for nature swaps.
Enhance Drought and Water Resilience
Promote inclusive decision making processes; rights-based and landscape scale approaches; partnerships, engagement, and capacity building; adopting and addressing land, water and resource tenure for marginalised groups including women; and ensure equitable resource allocation, transparency and knowledge sharing.
Promote Sustainable, Resilient, and Inclusive Agri-food Systems
Effectively link mainstream science with diverse knowledge systems – including indigenous knowledge and citizen science – helping bridge data gaps and facilitate holistic, innovative, inclusive and context-appropriate land and ecosystem restoration actions, as well as inform capacity building and finance to support locally-led land restoration efforts.
For land, nature and climate.
The Riyadh Action Agenda holds land conservation and restoration as a unifying agenda that contributes to the UNCCD goals, while fostering collaboration with the Rio Conventions on climate and nature.
Get involved
We invite everyone – from companies, financial institutions, regions, cities, academic research and educational institutions, philanthropy bodies, farming groups and agri-food businesses, to civil society groups, including indigenous peoples, local communities, women and youth – to contribute to the agenda with their knowledge and expertise.