The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) took part in the international celebrations to mark the 2016 World Day to Combat Desertification through a web-conference on Land Degradation Neutrality and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The event took place in Beirut on 20 June 2016 and experts from the region and internationally could participate online.

UN ESCWA highlighted that 73% of the land in the Arab Region is degraded, with 36% of these being very severely or severely degraded. The Sustainable Development Goals recognize this problem through Goal 15 and specifically Target 15.3 focusing on Land Degradation Neutrality.

Dr. Talal Darwish from the National Centre for Remote Sensing in Lebanon emphasized the importance of data collection for decision-making, and highlighted that annual losses due to land degradation in Lebanon exceeded $150 million, whereas investment in soil and land research was only $16 million. Ms. Sabine Sakr, Associate Programme Officer at the UNCCD Secretariat highlighted the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme which offers technical guidance on how to assess the level of land degradation, define national baselines and establish measures and targets to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030.

The concept of land degradation neutrality and activities supporting implementation at national level were discussed with over 25 participants from Ministries, UN agencies, academia and research institutions in Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Sudan, UAE, and other Arab countries.