This year, from August 17-18, Mongolia will host the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), held in Ulaanbaatar. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Restoring Land, Restoring Hope’ – UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad stated, “Land is our most vital infrastructure - underpinning food security, water, livelihoods, and stability. When land fails, insecurity rises - through lost livelihoods, forced displacement, and increased competition over scarce resources. With UNCCD COP17, Mongolia is offering the world a powerful message: Restoring Land, Restoring Hope is not only an environmental agenda, but a development and resilience priority.”

Representing the only legally binding international agreement regarding environment, development and sustainable land management concerns, the UNCCD will be addressing the challenges facing dryland areas, which contain important and vulnerable ecosystems and peoples. Mongolia’s rangeland landscapes and pastoralist culture are vulnerable to desertification and other climate change related effects – making COP17 in Ulaanbaatar an important opportunity for international actors to come together to collaborate. Focal areas of the conference will include the Steppe Action Agenda, intended as a practical framework for taking action on drylands.

The value of international collaboration on rangeland resilience cannot be overstated. COP17 is an opportunity for Mongolia to take the lead on combatting desertification, promote it’s sustainable pastoralist heritage, and elevate rangeland challenges on the global stage.

We are looking forward to seeing the developments that emerge at COP17 this year!

Graphic credit: UNCCD