‘Our Land. Our Future’ – SPARC at UNCCD COP16

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16, took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13.

This year’s conference was on the theme of ‘Our Land. Our Future’. SPARC joined its partners the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Alliance Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), to showcase new research on how local Natural Resource Management (NRM) initiatives - including 'conventions locales' (local agreements between NRM users) in Senegal - can contribute to conflict resolution at an event on ‘Landscape restoration as a pathway to peace’ on Wednesday, December 4. 

Researchers discussed how local-level NRM, which prioritise sustainable and inclusive governance structures, and the capacity of pastoralists to address land and resource management technically, can support peacebuilding in drylands.

The event is a continuation of our ongoing work bringing new evidence on land, biodiversity and climate to policymakers and practitioners. This includes a series of key SPARC-led events at last month’s UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) COP16 and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP29, as well as our upcoming engagement during the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026.

Watch the event here. Find out more about our work on how better natural resource management in pastoralist regions can strengthen peacebuilding here.