The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), kicked off today in Abidjan, the administrative capital of Cote d’Ivoire in the presence of a nine African heads of states and world’s climate experts. The gathering was hosted by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, with French president, Emmanuel Macron, addressing the audience via a video message.

Labelling the summit “Earth. Life. Heritage: from a precarious world toward a prosperous future,” President Ouattara underscored the significance of the gathering by quoting U.N. data on climate change, saying that soil erosion affects 52% of farmland worldwide, thereby jeopardizing the livelihoods of 2,6 billion people who depend directly on agriculture. The Ivorian head of state also pointed out that desertification and drought cause the loss of 12 million hectares each year, which translates to 23 hectares per minute.

Cote d’Ivoire is no exception to this phenomenon. President Ouattara states that his country’s forest area has decreased by 80% since 1900, from 16 million hectares to 2.9 million in 2021. He alerted the audience: “At the current rate, our forest could disappear entirely by 2050.”

In a video message, newly reelected French president, Emmanuel Macro, stated that “Desertification affects more than 3.2 billion people living on degraded lands around the world. There is an urgency to act.” The French president added, however, that “Desertification and land degradation are not a fatality. These crises are not irreversible, and solutions exist.”

Given the challenge that constitute desertification and soil erosion, the Ivorian president appealed to the developed nations by saying: “In that regard, I would like to reiterate my appeal to developed nations to further reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to keep the commitment to mobilize US$100 billion annually to help developing nations in their effort to adapt to climate change and their energy transition.”

Other African heads of state present include Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari and Mohamed Bazoum of Niger.