– says drought is no longer simply a periodic natural hazard

Guyana has called for increased international investment in drought preparedness, emphasising that building resilience to the impacts of climate change must go beyond emergency response. The call was made by Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, on Tuesday, during a ministerial dialogue on drought resilience, hosted during the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) under the theme “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope”, being held from August 17 to 28, 2026, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The dialogue aims to identify practical approaches to strengthen drought governance, partnerships and investment and shift from reactive response to proactive risk reduction and resilience. Discussions focused on integrating drought resilience into national development, land restoration, food and water security, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods. They also explored opportunities to strengthen financing, science-policy cooperation, early warning systems and international collaboration. Addressing the forum, Minister Bharrat emphasised that “drought is no longer simply a periodic natural hazard”.

“It is a growing threat to food security, water security, livelihoods, biodiversity and economic stability. As climate change alters rainfall patterns and intensifies climatic extremes, our task is not only simply to respond when drought occurs but our task is to build resilience even before drought becomes a crisis,” he contended. For Guyana, he said resilience begins with recognising that water, land, forest, biodiversity, agriculture and people are one interconnected system. He noted that under the leadership of President Dr Irfaan Ali, the Low Carbon Development Strategy of 2030 (LCDS 2030), has placed this integrated approach at the centre of the country’s national development pathway. In fact, Minister Bharrat pointed to the 2025 study published in Nature Food, which found that Guyana is the only nation out of 186 surveyed that is fully self-sufficient in domestic food production across all seven major food groups. He underscored why this finding is significant, noting that countries without such self-sufficiency are more vulnerable to sudden food supply shocks that include droughts and wars. “Therefore, protecting Guyana’s capacity to feed its people means protecting the land, soil, water and biodiversity upon which that capacity depends. This is why drought resilience must extend beyond emergency response,” Minister Bharrat posited. In this regard, he called for greater international investment on drought preparedness, resilient food systems, healthy soils, water security and nature-based solutions. “Let us invest before the crisis. Let us strengthen the resilience before the drought. Let us protect our natural systems and make food security possible. Because it is important, resilience must be accelerated,” he emphasised. Minister Bharrat is currently leading a Guyanese delegation at COP 17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He will also be participating in a Ministerial Panel on Wednesday during Land and People Day at the conference. The topic in focus for the panel is “From Summits to the Floodplains: Connecting Ecosystems and livelihoods.”