COP17 opens in Mongolia to combat desertification and drought

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened on 17 August in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the theme "Restore land. Restore hope." The summit, running until 28 August, gathers delegates from 197 member countries and over 10,000 participants, including government leaders, scientists, indigenous peoples, and civil society, to address desertification, land degradation, and drought Source: Infobae, Euronews.

Key figures

• Land degradation already affects up to 40% of the world's land surface, threatening food production, water availability, and livelihoods Source: La Silla Vacía.
• Drought and sandstorms impact up to 3.2 billion people worldwide Source: Infobae.
• Mongolia is among the hardest hit, with nearly 77% of its territory degraded Source: La Silla Vacía.

Calls to action

Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Uchral urged the summit to move "from words to action," emphasizing concrete progress in six areas, including increased investment in land restoration and placing pastoralists at the center of decisions Source: Infobae. UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad echoed this, calling COP17 "a summit of implementation," noting that the world lacks not solutions but the capacity to scale them Source: Diario Libre.

Pending agreement

A key goal is to finalize a legally binding framework on drought that was left unresolved at COP16 in Riyadh in 2024 Source: Infobae. While La Silla Vacía reports that COP16 ended without a global agreement, Listín Diario highlights the Riyadh Action Agenda as a positive step, having mobilized $12 billion and over 100 partners Source: Listín Diario. This contrast underscores the differing assessments of progress.