UNCCD COP17 Concludes in Ulaanbaatar with a USD 1.3 Billion Land Restoration Package

2 September 2026National

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification was held at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17-28 August 2026 under the theme "Restoring Land. Restoring Hope." Governments, development banks and companies announced a USD 1.3 billion portfolio for land restoration and drought resilience across 23 countries. COP17 launched a new global drought-resilience architecture - Phase-II of the International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO), the AI-powered Drought Resilience Index (DRI) and the Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF), which aims to raise up to USD 400 million. Egypt was approved as host of COP18 at Sharm El-Sheikh in 2028.

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UNCCD was adopted in 1994 and is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment, development and sustainable land management; its secretariat is at Bonn, Germany | UNCCD COP16 was held at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2024 | UNCCD is one of the three Rio Conventions along with the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity

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