Published on: 2026-08-18
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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August 18, 2026 Climate and Environment
Delegates from more than 190 countries gathered in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP-17) is taking place there.
For two weeks, representatives from governments, the private sector, the scientific community, and civil organizations will promote practical solutions, establish new partnerships, and mobilize investments to restore land and enhance its resilience to drought.
The initiatives launched at UNCCD COP-17 are expected to strengthen international cooperation in land management in the coming years – at a time when countries are facing increasingly severe consequences of land degradation, water scarcity, and climate change.
It is estimated that degradation and drought already affect up to 40 percent of the world’s land and cost the global economy nearly 900 billion dollars annually. About 3.2 billion people feel the consequences of this.
“Land degradation and drought are no longer distant environmental threats. They affect the food we produce, the water we need, the resilience of our economy, and the ability of communities to confidently build their future,” said Yasmin Fouad, Executive Secretary of the Convention to Combat Desertification.
“Therefore, CS-17 should become a conference of practical actions. We already have the decisions – the task is to implement them on the necessary scale. Ulaanbaatar must give the necessary political impetus, attract investments, and unite partners in order to move from commitments to measurable results on the ground,” she added.
For Mongolia as the host country, the issues discussed at the conference are an everyday reality. Nearly 77 percent of the country’s land resources are subject to degradation. At the same time, pastoral livestock farming provides livelihoods for about every third resident of Mongolia. In 2023 and 2024, severe summer droughts followed by harsh winters led to the death of more than seven million heads of livestock.
FAO/K. Purevrakchaa Nearly 77 percent of Mongolia’s land resources are subject to degradation.
“For Mongolia, the land is inseparable from the life of the people, their well-being, and our shared future. In our country, pasture livestock farming still plays a central role in society’s life, while land degradation, drought, and harsh winters place increasingly serious pressure on local communities,” said Batzetseg Batmunkh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and Chair of SC-17.
“Holding the CS-17 is both a responsibility and an opportunity to make the experience of countries with arid territories and pastoral communities one of the central themes of global discussions,” she noted.
Fighting Drought
Building on the progress achieved at COP-16 in Riyadh, at COP-17 governments will continue discussing the global policy framework on droughts, while simultaneously strengthening practical tools, partnerships, and financing mechanisms needed to move from drought plans to concrete actions. The parties will discuss measures to enhance preparedness, develop early warning systems, and reinforce international cooperation.
Today, national drought action plans have been developed in more than 70 countries – compared to only three countries in 2013. This reflects a growing understanding that drought risks need to be managed proactively, rather than taking action only when it escalates into a humanitarian and economic crisis.
Every dollar invested in enhancing drought resilience can yield up to $10 in return, and the benefits of some nature-based solutions can exceed costs by 27 times.
Multi-billion funding deficit
Mobilizing additional public and private investments for land restoration will become one of the priorities of CS-17.
It is estimated that $355 billion USD is required annually to combat land degradation and drought, while the current investment volume is only around $77 billion. Thus, the annual funding gap reaches $278 billion.
© UNICEF/S. Prichapanich Due to climate change, droughts are becoming increasingly frequent.
Although the business largely depends on fertile lands and reliable water supply, today the private sector accounts for only about six percent of global funding for land restoration and drought resilience enhancement.
Government funds alone will most likely be insufficient to bridge this gap, highlighting the need for closer collaboration between governments, development banks, businesses, and investors.
At KS-17, opportunities to attract new sources of financing, reduce investment risks, and foster closer cooperation between the public and private sectors in this area will be considered. The conference will present the results of initiatives such as Business4Land, aimed at expanding private sector participation in land restoration and increasing resilience to drought.
Pasture lands in the spotlight
CS-17 takes place in the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. It is one of the most underestimated ecosystems in the world, and now it will be at the center of international discussions.
Pasture lands cover 54 percent of the Earth’s land surface and provide livelihoods for about two billion people, including approximately 500 million pastoralists who have cared for these lands for thousands of years.
Pasture lands provide one-sixth of all food produced in the world and supply about 70 percent of the fodder base for livestock. Their importance is not limited to grazing: these are strategically important ecosystems on which food security, biodiversity, climate change resilience, and income sources depend. At the same time, about half of the pasture lands are already degraded or at risk.
Governments are expected to consider a new policy framework concerning grazing lands and pastoralists and to launch the Flagship Initiative on Grasslands – a global partnership aimed at increasing long-term investments in sustainable grassland management.
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