- As land degradation, drought and water scarcity
increasingly threaten food security, livelihoods and
stability, UNCCD COP17 will place healthy land at the centre
of human wellbeing and prosperity. - Delegates
representing 197 UNCCD Parties, international organizations,
financial institutions, businesses and land stewards are
expected to gather in Ulaanbaatar from 17-28
August. - Mobilizing public and private
investment to accelerate land restoration and drought
resilience will be one of the defining priorities of
COP17. - Governments will also advance
decisions on drought resilience, rangelands, sustainable
agriculture and soils, and private sector
engagement.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,
17 August 2026 – Delegates from 196 countries and
the European Union gathered in Ulaanbaatar today for the
opening of the seventeenth session of the Conference of the
Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD).
Over the next two weeks,
governments, financial institutions, businesses, scientists
and civil society will work to advance practical solutions,
forge new partnerships and mobilize investment for land
restoration and drought resilience, while Parties negotiate
decisions on drought, rangelands, agricultural lands and
soils, resource mobilization, private-sector engagement and
the Convention’s future strategic direction.
The
decisions, partnerships and initiatives launched at UNCCD
COP17 are expected to strengthen international cooperation
on sustainable land management, land restoration and drought
resilience over the coming years, at a time when countries
are facing increasing pressure from land degradation, water
scarcity and climate change.
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Land degradation and
drought are estimated to cost the global economy nearly USD
900 billion every year and already affect up to 40 per cent
of the world’s land and 3.2 billion people. Droughts have
increased by almost one-third since 2000 and now generate at
least USD 300 billion in annual losses.
As the first
of the three Rio Convention COPs taking place in 2026, ahead
of the biodiversity and climate conferences, COP17 provides
an opportunity to strengthen cooperation across the Rio
Conventions and accelerate practical action on land
degradation, biodiversity loss, climate change, food and
water security and water resilience.
For host country
Mongolia, these issues are part of everyday life. Nearly 77
per cent of the country’s land is degraded, while
pastoralism supports the livelihoods of one in three
Mongolians. In 2023 and 2024, severe summer drought followed
by devastating dzud winters resulted in the loss of
more than seven million livestock, highlighting the growing
vulnerability of dryland communities and the urgent need to
strengthen resilience.
Strengthening drought
resilience
Building on the progress made at COP16 in
Riyadh, governments at COP17 will continue discussions on a
global policy framework on drought while strengthening the
practical tools, partnerships and financing mechanisms
needed to help countries turn drought plans into action.
Parties will discuss measures to strengthen preparedness,
early warning systems, vulnerability assessments and
international cooperation.
More than 70 countries have
now developed national drought plans, compared with only
three in 2013, reflecting growing recognition that drought
must be managed proactively rather than only once it becomes
a humanitarian and economic crisis.
Every dollar
invested in drought resilience can generate returns of up to
USD 10, while some nature-based solutions deliver benefits
of up to 27 times their cost.
COP17 will also feature
new tools and partnerships to help countries strengthen
drought preparedness and resilience, including announcements
related to the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership,
the Drought Resilience Investment Facility and the
International Drought Resilience Observatory as well as
other related programmes and projects.
Closing the
multibillion finance gap
Mobilizing greater public
and private investment for land restoration and drought
resilience will be one of the defining priorities of
COP17.
An estimated USD 355 billion is needed every
year to combat land degradation and drought, yet current
investment stands at only around USD 77 billion, leaving an
annual financing gap of USD 278 billion.
Despite
depending heavily on healthy land and reliable water
supplies, the private sector currently provides only around
six per cent of global land restoration and drought
resilience finance. Public resources alone are unlikely to
close the gap, highlighting the need to strengthen
collaboration between governments, development banks,
businesses and investors.
COP17 will explore how to
unlock new sources of finance, strengthen incentives for
sustainable land management, reduce investment risks and
better align public and private investment with land
restoration and drought resilience goals through discussions
and examining new tools to leverage the existing pledges at
the regional and national levels. The conference will
illustrate progress on initiatives such as Business4Land,
which aims to strengthen private sector engagement and
partnerships for land restoration and drought
resilience.
The Business for Land Forum on 24
August will bring together governments, businesses
and investors to accelerate private sector action and
investment in regenerative landscapes. Participating
organizations in the Action Agenda on Regenerative
Landscapes have already committed more than USD 9
billion across over 210 million hectares, while new
policy recommendations aimed at unlocking further investment
will be presented at COP17.
Rangelands take centre
stage
Held during the International Year of
Rangelands and Pastoralists, COP17 will place one of the
world’s largest yet most overlooked ecosystems at the centre
of international discussions.
Rangelands cover 54 per
cent of the Earth’s land surface and support the livelihoods
of around two billion people, including approximately 500
million pastoralists who have stewarded them for
millennia.
Rangelands produce one-sixth of the world’s
food and provide around 70 per cent of livestock feed. Far
more than grazing lands, they are strategic ecosystems that
underpin food security, biodiversity, climate resilience and
livelihoods across the world’s drylands.
Yet up to half of the world’s rangelands are already
degraded or at risk, with 78 per cent located in drylands
where increasing drought, climate change and unsustainable
land use are placing growing pressure on ecosystems and
communities.
Governments are expected to consider a
new policy framework on rangelands and pastoralists and
launch the Rangelands Flagship Initiative,
a global partnership designed to increase long-term
investment in sustainable rangeland management and
strengthen pastoral livelihoods.
The opening of COP17
also marks the conclusion of the UNCCD Silk Road Caravan, a
multi-country journey across Eurasia that brought together
governments, scientists, pastoralists, local communities and
young people to exchange knowledge and showcase practical
approaches to land restoration, sustainable rangeland
management and drought resilience. Travelling along the
historic Silk Road, the Caravan visited restoration projects
and pastoral communities, highlighting practical solutions
and the experiences of people restoring degraded land. Its
arrival in Mongolia ahead of COP17 symbolically connects
local action with the global negotiations beginning in
Ulaanbaatar and marks one of the flagship initiatives of the
International Year of Rangelands and
Pastoralists.
Beyond the drought and rangelands
agenda, governments will also consider the Convention’s
future strategic framework, scientific guidance on
agricultural lands and soils, greater participation by
Indigenous Peoples, local communities, youth and civil
society, stronger cooperation with the biodiversity and
climate conventions, and ways to accelerate action under the
Convention.
From negotiations to
action
Alongside the formal negotiations, the COP17
Action Agenda will bring together governments, international
partners, financial institutions, businesses, scientists,
civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples,
pastoralists, local communities, women and youth to showcase
practical solutions, launch new initiatives and forge
partnerships that can help scale up action on the
ground.
Four thematic days during the conference’s
second week will connect negotiations with high-level
dialogue and practical action:
Finance Day (24
August): Mobilizing public and private investment
for land restoration and drought
resilience.
Water Day (25 August):
Strengthening drought resilience and cooperation on the
land-water nexus.
Land and People Day (26
August): Highlighting the role of pastoralists,
Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women and youth in
restoring and sustainably managing land.
Food
Systems and Soil Health Day (27 August): Advancing
healthy soils and sustainable food systems to strengthen
food security and resilient livelihoods.
The
conference’s high-level segment will feature ministerial
dialogues and special events on drought resilience,
sustainable rangelands, financing for land restoration, food
systems and soil health, migration and security, sand and
dust storms, and private-sector engagement.
COP17 will
also host the first formal convenings of the UNCCD
Indigenous Peoples Caucus and the Local
Communities Caucus, alongside the
Business4Land Forum, Youth
Forum and Gender Caucus, creating
new opportunities for dialogue and partnership across
governments and stakeholders. A Parliamentarians Forum and
Mayors Forum will also convene on the sidelines of
COP17.
Several major scientific and policy
publications will also be launched during the conference,
including:
24 August: The
Economics of Rangelands Restoration
25
August: The Drying Planet: Drought in Numbers
2026
26 August: Global Land
Outlook for Small Island Developing
States
26 August: Global Land
Outlook Central Asia Thematic Report
27
August: Soil Health: The Business Case for
Investing in Our Foundation
COP17 will conclude on
28 August, when Parties are expected to adopt decisions that
will guide the Convention’s work over the coming years and
shape the next phase of global action on land restoration
and drought
resilience.
