Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Yemen has released a new report detailing the impact of land degradation on human development in Yemen during the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Yemen is one of the most vulnerable countries on earth to climate change and has the highest malnutrition rates in the world among women and children. The new report reveals that in a scenario where land degradation continues, by 2040, USD $90 billion will be lost in cumulative Gross Domestic Product and 2.6 million more people will suffer from undernutrition.

However, it is forecast that with an end to conflict, improved governance, and targeted human development measures, Yemen can return to pre-conflict levels of human development in just ten years. Within this scenario, by 2060, 33 million people would be lifted out of poverty, 16 million people would no longer be undernourished, and more than USD $500 billion in additional cumulative economic output would be produced.

“Through this new analysis, we see that climate change, healthy land, food security, and peace are all linked. Left alone, land degradation heightened by the conflict in Yemen will negatively affect agriculture and livelihoods, leading to mass hunger and undermining efforts for recovery. We must work together to restore Yemen’s agriculture potential and address human development deficits,” said Zena Ali Ahmad, UNDP Yemen Resident Representative. 

Commissioned by UNDP in 2024, Land Degradation and Human Development in Yemen is the product of a collaboration with the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures and the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Press Contact
Miriam Pineau, Team Lead for Communications and Advocacy, UNDP Yemen | Miriam.Pineau@undp.org

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