Rania Hedeya
Regional Representative a.i.UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States
Arab countries are being impacted by crises, whether natural hazards, effects of climate change, protracted conflict and displacement or a combination of these. Climate change and natural hazards bring environmental impacts that can make land unsuitable to live on or grow food on, while conflicts destroy housing and infrastructure, contaminate and degrade land and cause large-scale displacement, often driving people away from food producing regions. As a vital natural resource and key cornerstone of housing, land is both a driver and a casualty of these crises, and, if governed well, a foundation for resilience.
Good land governance plays a vital role in achieving food security, adequate housing and climate adaptability, as well as post-disaster and post-conflict recovery, peace and stability. To respond to regional challenges, policymakers, researchers and civil society will meet in Rabat, Morocco, from 18-20 February 2025 for the Third Arab Land Conference to discuss and inform strategies that address the most pressing land sector challenges in the region.
Land for adequate housing for all and sustainable urban development
Access to land for adequate housing remains a pressing issue in the Arab region. Unplanned urban sprawl and the growth of informal settlements strain the already limited provision of services, infrastructure and urban amenities. Sustainable urban land management is a key precondition of sustainable urban development and compact, serviced urban growth. It is vital to ensure that all communities have access to adequate and affordable housing in suitable locations.
Cities also act as safety valves for people displaced by conflict, climate change and natural hazards, and the needs of the displaced often collide with those of low-income urban populations. Effective urban land management, including better use of vacant housing and vacant public land, will be crucial to ensure that cities continue to be an engine of sustainable development and prosperity.
Land management at times of conflict
Conflict is a major cause of displacement and damage to land and housing in the Arab region. In Gaza, over 1.9 million people – more than 90 per cent of the population – have been forcibly displaced from their land since October 2023, and an estimated 68 per cent of cropland and 92 per cent of housing units destroyed or severely damaged. In Sudan, more than 12.4 million people have been forcibly displaced since April 2023, highlighting the devastating impact of conflict on people’s access to land and shelter.
Yet, land can also function as a cornerstone for durable solutions to displacement. By leveraging innovative approaches and technology, displaced communities can secure their land rights and, when possible, return to their homes. In Iraq, UN-Habitat used a digital land and property recordation tool to support the government in documenting land claims, facilitating the legal recognition of property ownership and helping displaced Yazidis reclaim their ancestral lands after being denied their land rights for nearly 50 years. These efforts have been instrumental in rebuilding communities, restoring justice and fostering long-term peace and stability in post-conflict areas.
A similar approach has been applied to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Iraq. Since 2020, UN-Habitat has been documenting housing, land and property claims and supporting evidence of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon and Iraq as an effort to mitigate the risk of further damages and loss of land and property documents, while creating an important basis for future restitution, compensation and dispute resolution efforts in Syria. This is now crucial to support return, recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Land management in the climate crisis
The climate crisis is having a severe and varied impact on countries across the Arab region. Coastal regions in countries on the Arab Peninsula and along the Mediterranean are impacted by gradually disappearing land, while more arid regions are increasingly affected by drought, desertification and land degradation – with 73 per cent of the already scarce arable land affected by land degradation. Natural hazards, such as floods, are also becoming fiercer and more frequent.
All of these factors can result in loss of homes and livelihoods, leading to mass displacement. In September 2023, Storm Daniel triggered catastrophic flooding in eastern Libya, causing loss of life and displacing 52,000 people, about 45 per cent of whom were in the port city of Derna, home to around 8,700 migrants living mainly in hazard-prone areas. Meanwhile, projections estimate that a 0.5-meter rise in sea level could displace between 2 and 4 million people in Egypt by 2050.
Developing effective adaptation measures – such as risk-informed land use planning, climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable water and land management, planned relocation and urban adaptation – is essential to reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing resilience to climate change. This highlights the urgent need for policymakers to recognize that land use decisions can either mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of climate change.
Land for food security
Arab countries rely heavily on food imports, which makes the preservation of existing cropland essential for ensuring regional food security. In the context of conflict, climate change and other crises, protection of land for food production becomes even more essential. Strategic land governance and planning can ensure that urban centres do not encroach on arable peri-urban land. Instead, municipalities and urban planners can safeguard agricultural land to meet the food and nutrition needs of growing populations.
Beyond the encroachment of urban areas on agricultural land, drought, desertification and land degradation make growing crops more difficult, which pushes people out of rural areas as they lose their livelihoods. Conflict further reduces food production by restricting access to farmland, while remnants of war can also pollute land, rendering it unsafe or impossible to grow food for years after the conflict has ended. In early 2024, 26 per cent of farmers in southern Lebanon were unable to access their fields due to conflict, leading to a loss of at least 22 per cent of the region’s olive production.
Conference Declaration
As the impacts of climate change and conflict on land continue to intensify, the urgency of implementing land-based solutions grows. Governments, civil society and the private sector must all work together to ensure that land is managed sustainably and equitably. This requires strengthening land rights for displaced populations, promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices and safeguarding land from the pressures of urbanization.
The Third Arab Land Conference provides a crucial platform for leaders to commit to land-based solutions that can help the region bounce back from crises and promote long-term sustainable development. It is a chance for policymakers to discuss practical steps for improving land governance, protecting food security and providing durable solutions for displaced populations. The commitments made at the Conference will be documented in a Declaration, which will serve as a roadmap for future action. Land can be a cornerstone for peace, stability and resilience – if we prioritize it.
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