© UNCCD/M. Kirubi The conference in Ulaanbaatar took place against the backdrop of a difficult international situation in the field of land resources. COP 17 participants in Mongolia agreed to mobilize resources to restore rangelands Climate and Environment
After two weeks of negotiations on ways to combat land degradation, desertification and drought, the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP-17 UNCCD) concluded today in Ulaanbaatar. Its participants achieved progress on a range of measures to combat land degradation.
During the International Year of Rangeland and Livestock, the Flagship Rangeland Initiative was launched in Ulaanbaatar, bringing together 45 projects worth $1.2 billion. This is the largest single initiative to mobilize resources in support of rangelands in the history of the Convention.
60~p>In addition, governments, development banks, foundations and companies have announced a $1.3 billion funding portfolio for 23 countries on five continents, including projects in various stages of preparation. Of this amount, $644.5 million relates to new financing.
From Commitment to Implementation
“We came to Ulaanbaatar with the goal of making COP 17 a conference of practical actions,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad, “and we leave with much more of the elements of the system that will allow this to be achieved: political solutions, a stronger scientific basis, innovative financial mechanisms, investment portfolios and partnerships that can scale solutions.”
Degradation land
The conference took place against the backdrop of a difficult international situation in the field of land resources. Up to 40 percent of land is degraded, with countries committing to restore more than one billion hectares by 2030. Today, more than 70 countries have national plans to combat drought, up from just three in 2013, but the scale of funding and action remains inadequate to match the scale and pace of the problem.
A large body of new data presented in Ulaanbaatar demonstrated both the costs of inaction and the benefits of investing in healthy lands. Thus, in small island developing states, 18.8 million hectares of land are degraded, and in Central Asia – more than 80 million hectares, that is, over a quarter of the region’s territory, affecting 24 million people. At the same time, all five Central Asian countries have set themselves targets to achieve land degradation neutrality, and half of these commitments have already been fulfilled.At COP17, the first global financial mechanism specifically designed to attract investment in drought resilience was launched. The project, created by the UNCCD and Luxembourg with the support of the International Drought Resilience Alliance, aims to mobilize up to $400 million in public and private capital for investments in water security, sustainable agriculture, nature-based solutions and land restoration. obligations on land resources and the financing available to fulfill them. It is estimated that $355 billion annually will be needed to meet global land restoration commitments by 2030, compared with current investment of around $77 billion, leaving an annual gap of $278 billion. Private finance accounts for only about six percent of global investment in land restoration.
Indigenous Peoples’ Forum
The conference was marked by the first official meetings of the UNCCD Indigenous Peoples’ Forum and the Local Communities Forum. The decision to create them and allocate separate platforms within the framework of the Convention to express their positions and priorities was made by the parties at COP-16 in Riyadh.
The largest number of representatives of indigenous peoples in the entire history of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD participated in the work of COP-17. A special high-level event on the Land and People theme day featured indigenous peoples as rights holders, knowledge custodians and partners in implementation. Discussions focused on indigenous knowledge systems, traditional forms of governance, sustainable pastoralism, responsible land management and direct access to funding for indigenous initiatives. peoples.
Discussions also emphasized the leadership role of women and youth, including the need to invest in young people as future leaders of land restoration and increase their participation in land and drought action.
From Mongolia to Egypt
Next The session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD – COP-18 – is expected to be held in Egypt in 2028. COP18 will be the next key milestone for countries to assess progress in restoring land resources and building resilience to drought, and to build on the decisions and agreements reached in Ulaanbaatar.