{"id":39397,"date":"2026-08-17T15:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/?p=39397"},"modified":"2026-08-17T15:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:42:43","slug":"europe-is-burning-and-drying-up-the-eu-calls-for-a-global-turnaround-in-soil-and-water-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/2026\/08\/17\/europe-is-burning-and-drying-up-the-eu-calls-for-a-global-turnaround-in-soil-and-water-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe is burning and drying up: EU calls for global turnaround in soil and water protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europe is facing another summer of extreme heat, water scarcity and drought, increasing the overall pressure on people, nature and the economy. Extremely high temperatures and prolonged periods without precipitation are putting serious strain on supplies water, agriculture, energy production, river transport and sensitive ecosystems. The situation is all the more serious because Europe is warming faster than any other continent<\/strong>.<\/span><\/a> In this critical context, the European Union calls for a stronger global response to restore degraded land, strengthen drought resilience and protect water resources on the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17)<\/strong>. This major conference, with the main theme \u201eRestoring Land, Restoring Hope,\u201c will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from August 17 to 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

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A new approach: From crisis management to prevention and resilience<\/strong><\/p>\n

A key priority for the EU at COP17 is to push for a fundamental a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive drought risk management and systematic resilience building<\/strong>. In practice, this means redirecting investments into preparedness, early warning systems, risk reduction, and sustainable land and water management before droughts escalate into humanitarian, economic, or environmental crises.<\/p>\n

Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, said:<\/p>\n

\u201e"This summer is another stark reminder that drought and water scarcity are not a distant threat. They are already threatening lives, health, economies and ecosystems in the EU and beyond. We need to move from managing drought emergencies to building resilience before a crisis occurs. Restoring soil, protecting ecosystems and sustainably managing water are essential parts of this effort. At UNCCD COP17, the EU will work with international partners, civil society and the private sector to turn ambition into action and make drought resilience a reality."\u201c<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Synergy of the three Rio conventions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The year 2026 marks a turning point for multilateral environmental cooperation. In the same year, the Conferences of the Parties of all three so-called. Rio conventions<\/strong> \u2013 the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) \u2013 together with the UN Water Conference. The EU plans to use this unique opportunity to promoting stronger synergies between soil, water, biodiversity protection and climate action<\/strong>. These challenges are deeply interconnected and require common, integrated solutions.<\/p>\n

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From global promises to real action on the ground<\/strong><\/p>\n

The EU does not stop at political statements, but through its investment strategy Global Gateway<\/strong> actively supports sustainable investments on the ground around the world. These funds are used to combat land degradation, strengthen local livelihoods and build resilience to drought and climate change. At COP17, the EU presents real progress on key projects, including in particular support for the African initiative Great Green Wall<\/strong> (Great Green Wall), which aims to restore degraded land in the Sahel region.<\/p>\n

In addition to financial assistance, the EU actively supports global monitoring and early warning systems. A key tool is the use of satellite data from the Copernicus<\/strong>, which monitor drought conditions worldwide. In order to successfully combat desertification, the EU also promotes the meaningful involvement of civil society, the private sector and an emphasis on gender-balanced and responsive approaches.<\/p>\n

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Why healthy soil is key to stability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Desertification, along with climate change and biodiversity loss, represents one of the greatest threats to sustainable development. Healthy soil is a basic prerequisite for food production, biodiversity conservation, water resources security and livelihoods.<\/strong>. On the contrary, degraded land is much more vulnerable to drought, erosion and extreme weather. These environmental changes bring with them serious societal risks: they are a direct trigger of poverty, conflict, migration and lead to social or political instability in the world. Preventing land degradation is therefore not only an ecological necessity, but also a question of global security. JRi&CO2AI\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Europe is facing another summer of extreme heat, water scarcity and drought, increasing the overall pressure on people, nature and the economy. Extremely high temperatures and prolonged periods without precipitation are putting serious strain on supplies<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adaptacia-na-zmenu-klimy","category-klimaticka-zmena"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39397"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39401,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39397\/revisions\/39401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}