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Al-Ahram Weekly
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt at the helm of the UNCCD - Egypt - Al-Ahram Weekly
Yasmine Fouad has resigned as minister of environment to become executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli accepted the resignation of Yasmine Fouad from her post as minister of environment this week, assigning Manal Awad, minister of local development, to temporarily assume the duties, in addition to her current role, until a new minister is appointed. Fouad's resignation comes after UN Secretary-General António Guterres selected her in May as the new executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The selection was made in consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. Fouad succeeds Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania. Of Fouad's appointment to the UN office, Madbouli had earlier said it reflects international confidence in Egyptian expertise and its capacity to contribute to efforts in tackling environmental challenges. Fouad has served as Egypt's minister of environment since 2018, and during her tenure a framework was established to encourage private-sector engagement and integrate environmental sustainability into national investment strategies. She has over 27 years of experience in environmental governance, global environmental issues, and international climate diplomacy. She has overseen plans for sustainable development, linking them to national priorities and global environmental challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and transboundary water governance. Internationally, Fouad chaired the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP14) from 2018 to 2021. From 2021 to 2022, she served as ministerial coordinator and envoy for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP27), held in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022, contributing to building consensus on the Global Biodiversity Framework through 2030. During the COP27, she promoted global initiatives on adaptation, food security, agriculture, and nature-based solutions. She also led the Presidential Global Initiative launched at the earlier COP14, which seeks to link the three Rio Conventions (UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD). She has participated in climate finance negotiations at five climate conferences, representing the interests of the developing countries and seeking the collaboration of the developed countries. At the regional level, Fouad participated in the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change in 2015 and in the African Ministers Conference on the Environment from 2015 to 2017. She helped in the technical preparation of the African Adaptation Initiative and the African Renewable Energy Initiative. She also co-chaired the Steering Committee of the Regional Flagship Programmes under the New Partnership for Africa's Development, which addresses sustainable land management, desertification, biodiversity, and ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation. Fouad was a visiting scholar at Columbia University's Earth Institute in the US, where she contributed to the design of Egypt's Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Adaptation and participated in the development of policy papers on climate change in the Middle East and North Africa region. She holds a PhD in political science with a specialisation in Euro-Mediterranean Studies and a Master's degree in environmental science. Previous executive secretaries of the UNCCD include Hama Arba Diallo, a former foreign minister of Burkina Faso, Luc Gnacadja, a former minister of environment of Benin, and French-national Monique Barbut, former CEO of the Global Environment Facility. The UNCCD was established in 1994, with its permanent secretariat commencing operations in 1999. * A version of this article appears in print in the 24 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Scoop
7 days ago
- Climate
- Scoop
Droughts Are Causing Record Devastation Worldwide, UN-backed Report Reveals
21 July 2025 This is according to a new report from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the International Drought Resilience Alliance on the global impacts of droughts from 2023 to 2025. 'Drought is a silent killer. It creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion. Its scars run deep,' said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. 'This is not a dry spell,' stressed Dr. Mark Svoboda, report co-author and NDMC Director. 'This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I've ever seen. This report underscores the need for systematic monitoring of how drought affects lives, livelihoods, and the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on.' Record devastation in Africa According to the report, as 90 million people face acute hunger across Eastern and Southern Africa, some areas in the region have been experiencing the worst drought ever recorded. In Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, maize and wheat crops have suffered repeated failures. In Zimbabwe in particular, the 2024 corn crop was down 70 per cent year on year, maize prices doubled, and 9,000 cattle died of thirst and starvation. Some 43,000 people in Somalia died in 2022 alone due to drought-linked hunger. The crisis continued through 2025, with a quarter of the population facing crisis-level food insecurity at the beginning of the year. As a result of drought, Zambia is suffering one of the world's worst energy crises: in April, the Zambezi River plummeted to 20 per cent of its long-term average, and the country's largest hydroelectric plant, the Kariba Dam, fell to 7 per cent generation capacity, causing electricity blackouts of up to 21 hours a day. This has led to the shuttering of hospitals, bakeries, and factories, further compounding the devastation. Worldwide impacts But the effects of drought extend beyond Africa. For example, by September 2023 in Spain, two years of drought and record heat caused a 50 per cent drop in the olive crop, doubling olive oil prices nationwide. In Türkiye, drought-accelerated groundwater depletion has triggered sinkholes, endangering communities and their infrastructure while reducing aquifer storage capacity. In the Amazon Basin, record-low river levels in 2023 and 2024 led to mass deaths of fish and endangered dolphins, disrupted drinking water supplies and created transport challenges for hundreds of thousands. Ongoing deforestation and fires also threaten to shift the Amazon from a carbon sink to a carbon source. Declining water levels in the Panama Canal slashed transit by more than one-third, leading to major global trade disruptions. Among the spillover effects were declines in American soybean exports and shortages and rising prices reported in UK grocery stores. Call for cooperation and solutions The report listed several recommendations to help combat this crisis, including stronger early warning systems, real-time drought and drought impact monitoring, and nature-based solutions such as watershed restoration and indigenous crop use. It also called for more resilient infrastructure – including off-grid energy and alternative water supply systems – and global cooperation, particularly regarding transboundary river basins and trade routes.
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Unethical to call Badagas forest encroachers: Activist
COIMBATORE: A Kotagiri-based activist, Yukesh Saravanan, who is also the convenor of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Youth Caucus, has called out the forest department for its unethical approach in evicting residents of Ajoor, a Badaga hamlet in Udhagamandalam Taluk, two days after they filed a petition with the Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneru. "It is morally incorrect to term Badagas as encroachers of forest lands, owing to anthropological and archeological evidence, which is a testament to their intricate relationship with forests. The 1809 census enumeration, documented by the British, substantially claims the presence of a Badaga populace in Ajoor. This data was gathered before the introduction of the Madras Forest Act and Indian Forest Act in 1882 and 1927, respectively. The contentious region today is mostly plantations and has around 350 houses, untouched by any factors impairing environmental balance," said Yukesh Saravanan, who sent a letter to Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, demanding the forest department withdraw its move. He added that the residents bearing the brunt of eviction are fit to be classified as Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs). "The provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 aim to recognise and vest forest rights, including the right to live in the forest, cultivate and collect forest produce. Mulling their eviction not only undermines the harmonious co-existence between people and forests, but also disregards constitutional mandates to save the custodians of forests," he said.
Morocco World
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Morocco World
Morocco Enters Global Drought Hotspot List, Report Warns
A new international report confirms Morocco's place among the countries most severely affected by drought, raising alarm over shrinking water reserves, declining agricultural yields, and growing social vulnerability. The study, released by the US-based National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) in partnership with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), identifies Morocco, Spain, and Turkey as the hardest-hit countries in the Mediterranean basin. It draws on hundreds of scientific, governmental, and media sources to track drought pressure globally between 2023 and 2025. In Morocco, the report indicates that drought has long defined the country's climate. However, dry spells have become more and more persistent and intense since the early 1900s. This change now risks converting already strained ecosystems into intensely arid zones. The report states that Morocco 'should become more arid over the course of the 21st century,' with droughts expected to strike more often and with greater force. Water availability, already at a critical level of 645 cubic meters per person in 2015, could fall to 500 cubic meters by 2050. Projections toward the end of the century show rainfall dropping by as much as 65% in key mountain basins in the High Atlas, further weakening the country's already fragile water cycle. Agriculture and rural life under strain The fallout has already reached homes, farms, and businesses. Low dam levels and depleted groundwater have led to water restrictions in several regions, affecting both daily life and major economic sectors. Agriculture, in particular, faces growing difficulty. The report points to hefty losses in cereal and vegetable yields, which have undermined farmers' incomes. The downturn has set off a chain reaction, affecting rural employment and stoking fears of social instability in vulnerable areas. According to the report, Morocco's adaptive capacity remains low despite investments in modern infrastructure and sensitization. Urgency for policy shifts To slow down the crisis, the NDMC calls for stronger water demand management, quicker diversification of supply sources through desalination and wastewater recycling, and better preparedness for future drought episodes. The report calls for community involvement and local awareness in order to build long-term resilience. Morocco could otherwise face the prospect of recurrent crises, compounded by climate patterns that no longer follow old rhythms, it warns. Tags: droughtMoroccowater deficitwater reserves
New Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Global drought: A perfect storm
Sixty-eight million people needing food aid in Southern Africa, 23 million facing acute hunger in Eastern Africa, 4.4 million in Somalia at crisis-level food insecurity, and 1.7 million children suffering acute malnutrition in Somalia — millions are suffering as the global drought crisis deepens in 2023-2025, according to a comprehensive report released today by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), titled Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025. Supported by the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), the report synthesises data from over 250 peer-reviewed studies, official records, and media sources across more than a dozen countries, revealing a slow-moving catastrophe that has devastated ecosystems, economies, and human lives since 2023. With impacts persisting into 2025, experts warn that the world is entering a 'new normal' of escalating drought severity. The data is alarming. In Eastern and Southern Africa, over 90 million people face acute hunger, with 68 million in Southern Africa requiring food aid as of August 2024. Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi have seen repeated crop failures, with Zimbabwe's 2024 maize harvest plummeting 70% year-on-year, driving maize prices to double and leading to the death of 9,000 cattle from thirst and starvation. In Somalia, 43,000 people died in 2022 due to drought-linked hunger, and by early 2025, 4.4 million—over a quarter of the population—face crisis-level food insecurity, including 784,000 at emergency levels. The energy crisis in Zambia has cascading effects. The Zambezi River, critical for hydropower, dropped to 20 per cent of its long-term average discharge by April 2024, reducing the Kariba Dam's generation capacity to 7 per cent. This triggered blackouts lasting up to 21 hours daily, shuttering hospitals, bakeries, and factories.
