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The journey across Eurasian rangelands links land restoration with viable pastoral livelihoods on the road to Ulaanbaatar Bonn, Germany/Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China (17 July 2026 ) — The Silk Road Caravan today reached its 6,000-kilometer mark in northern China, exactly one month before the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opens in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  Since leaving Erzurum, Türkiye on 6 May on a symbolic journey connecting Riyadh COP16 to Ulaanbaatar COP17 in support of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, the Caravan has travelled through Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan before arriving in China earlier this week.  Pastoralists and researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe and South America have joined UNCCD Goodwill Ambassadors and Sport4Land champions to explore how communities across countries are restoring degraded rangelands while sustaining the livelihoods that depend on them.  Rangelands cover more than half of the Earth’s land surface, support around two billion people and provide nearly 70 per cent of global livestock feed. Yet up to half are degraded or at risk. At UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, countries adopted the Convention’s first decision devoted to rangelands, calling for stronger policies and investment, action against conversion, overexploitation and fragmentation, and a greater role for pastoralists in decisions on land management and tenure.  Along the way, the Caravan has served as a living showcase of restoration in practice, gathering ideas and experiences that will help inform discussions at COP17. From dune stabilization to sustainable grazing and value-added livestock products, each stop has offered a different perspective on the Eurasian rangelands—the world's largest continuous grazing region stretching 8,000 kilometers—that are under increasing pressures from the combined effects of drought and soil erosion. Carrying the knowledge, experiences and voices gathered along the route, the Silk Road Caravan journey will continue across Mongolia before culminating at UNCCD COP17 taking place from 17-28 August under the theme of “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.”  Insights from the journey  In China’s Otindag Sandy Land, willow branches are woven into grids across shifting dunes, stabilizing the sand long enough for grasses to take root.  But restoration does not end with planting. Sites are monitored over time, and livestock numbers are matched to the land’s carrying capacity and local communities—including women— receive technical support and incentives to maintain restored areas. China is just one example of a broader pattern that emerged across the Silk Road Caravan's journey. Each country offered different solutions, but many pointed to the same underlying principles. In Türkiye, seasonal mobility distributes grazing pressure across the landscape and gives pastures time to recover. Around Erzurum, it also supports household economies, with milk processed locally into cheese and other products. The system depends on secure access to grazing land and the transmission of pastoral knowledge between generations. In Russia's Kalmykia region, one of the most affected by desertification, hardy dzhuzgun shrubs are transforming shifting sands into productive pasture, with survival rates of around 95 per cent. The shrubs stabilize the dunes and reduce wind erosion, allowing fodder grasses to be planted between the dzhuzgun rows. As vegetation recovers, degraded land gradually returns to productive pasture. Mobile research units monitor the results while training students in the field. Restoration here follows a sequence: stabilize the soil, rebuild vegetation, recover grazing value and monitor results.  Meanwhile, Uzbekistan offered a lesson in the economics of patience. In Nurabad District, drought-tolerant pistachio trees are being established on degraded, low-productivity pastures. Local residents are paid to plant and maintain them; once the trees mature, five-hectare plots are intended for lease to lower-income families. The trees take years to yield. The model addresses a gap many restoration programmes leave open: communities need income while land recovers, and a lasting stake once it becomes productive.  In Kazakhstan, soil science and new technologies are helping transform the way rangelands are managed. Decades of soil surveys, herbarium records and aerial imagery are being integrated with GPS, satellite data and digital agricultural maps. These systems can track pasture condition, water infrastructure and early signs of degradation, while supporting reporting under the UNCCD Land Degradation Neutrality framework. The resulting evidence helps detect degradation early, before land's health and productivity are compromised.  In Kyrgyzstan, the Caravan journey highlighted another dimension of restoration ---one rooted in people and culture. Young activists from the Innovation Center in Bishkek brought elders and youth together through an intergenerational exchange on pastoral knowledge. On Desertification and Drought Day, 17 June, a dialogue at the Ministry of Agriculture convened policymakers, UN and international partners, researchers and pastoralists to develop recommendations on rangeland restoration and sustainable pasture management. Near Lake Issyk Kul, an association of women artisans invited Caravan participants to weave a commemorative felt carpet, demonstrating how   traditional skills, value-added local products, and fair market access create resilient rural livelihoods.   Message to COP17 Together, these experiences showed that while restoration solutions differ from place to place, the conditions for success are remarkably consistent and extend far beyond the countries visited by the Silk Road Caravan.  What unites these examples ---and makes them scalable--- is a common set of principles: communities need the authority and incentives to sustainably manage their land; grazing pressure must remain within ecological limits; land restoration must generate economic value; women and youth must have a voice in decision-making and land health must be monitored over time.  In Ulaanbaatar, the Silk Road Caravan will deliver a clear message: the most successful restoration efforts are those that strengthen livelihoods, build resilience and create economic opportunity, showing that restoring rangelands is as much a development challenge as an environmental one. 

UNCCD COP17: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | 17–28 August 2026: Media accreditation is open

medida que la degradación de tierras, la sequía y la escasez de agua se intensifican en todas las regiones, los países buscan cada vez más formas de restaurar los ecosistemas, reforzar los sistemas alimentarios, salvaguardar los medios de vida y fomentar la resiliencia.

As drought risks intensify, experts urge governments to turn Earth observation data into life-saving decisions

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 9 July – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) are advancing the landmark outcomes of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16), held in Riyadh in December 2024. As preparations gather pace for COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (17–28 August 2026), the visit underscored the strong partnership between Saudi Arabia and UNCCD and the shared commitment to translating those outcomes into action on land restoration, drought resilience and sustainable development.Implementing COP16 decisions and flagship initiatives was at the center of a high-level mission to the Kingdom from 5 to 9 July, during which UNCCD Executive Secretary Dr. Yasmine Fouad held strategic discussions with senior Saudi officials and regional partners — including H.E. Abdulrahman AlFadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and President of COP16, and H.E. Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs — on drought resilience, sustainable finance, private-sector engagement and regional cooperation, while also reviewing progress in delivering key COP16 commitments.Discussions with H.E. Adel Al-Jubeir also focused on the growing links between land degradation, drought resilience, stability and security — an issue now firmly on the international agenda, including in the G7 Environment Ministers’ statement of April 2026. The mission comes at a time when land degradation and drought are increasingly recognized not only as environmental challenges, but as systemic economic, social and security risks. Nearly 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded, affecting the natural resources that underpin almost half of global gross domestic product (GDP). The combined cost of land degradation and drought now exceeds USD 878 billion each year, while drought alone causes at least USD 300 billion in annual losses globally.The discussions reflected Saudi Arabia’s continued leadership in elevating land restoration and drought resilience on the global agenda following the successful hosting of COP16.“Land degradation and drought are no longer peripheral environmental concerns. They are increasingly shaping economies, food systems, water security, public finances and human security. What we recognized in Riyadh is that prevention must become the new global model — because reacting to crisis after it unfolds is no longer sustainable. The challenge now is to build the financial and institutional systems that can turn resilience into a long-term investment priority and help countries act before risk turns into disaster,” said Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary of UNCCD.A key focus of the mission was accelerating progress on the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership (RGDRP), launched at COP16 as a flagship initiative to help countries shift from reactive crisis response to prevention, preparedness and long-term resilience.The Partnership is designed to mobilize financing and technical support through three pillars: a Readiness Fund for national drought planning, an Investment Facility for large-scale resilience finance, and a Knowledge Bank to strengthen science, data and innovation.As it moves into its next phase, UNCCD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are finalizing arrangements to establish a Multi-Partner Trust Fund ahead of COP17, helping translate commitments into action.Political commitments are already translating into investment. The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) have each pledged USD 1 billion, in addition to a broader Arab Coordination Group commitment of up to USD 10 billion by 2030 to support drought resilience and land restoration.A major outcome of the mission was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UNCCD and the Middle East Green Initiative (MEGI) — a regional initiative headquartered in Riyadh. Dr. Fouad and H.E.  Ibrahim bin Mohammed Alturki, Secretary-General of the Middle East Green Initiative, signed the agreement to strengthen cooperation on land restoration, sustainable land management and drought resilience across the Middle East. The Memorandum of Understanding reinforces a shared commitment to accelerating regional action and translating the outcomes of COP16 into concrete cooperation across the Middle East.Building on the engagement of business leaders during COP16, discussions also focused on  scaling private-sector investment in land restoration and drought resilience, including through stronger public-private cooperation and greater private-sector engagement through Business for Land (B4L), UNCCD’s platform for business action on land.These efforts reflect growing recognition that land degradation and water scarcity are increasingly influencing inflation, food prices, public finances and investment decisions — reinforcing their role as strategic economic issues for governments and businesses alike.UNCCD estimates that countries require USD 355 billion annually to address desertification, land degradation and drought, yet current investment stands at only USD 77 billion per year — leaving an annual financing gap of USD 278 billion. Private sector finance accounts for just 6 per cent of current flows, despite its growing exposure to land-related risks across agriculture, infrastructure, finance and supply chains.“Hosting COP16 by KSA was intended to be a historical turning point in the global focus on the significant impacts posed by land degradation and drought and was never intended to be a single event. It marked the beginning of a long-term commitment to accelerate global action on land restoration and drought resilience. We will continue working closely with UNCCD and various international partners to ensure that the significant outcomes achieved in Riyadh translate into tangible results on the ground towards achieving global objectives pertaining to land neutrality and drought resilience” said Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With key foundations laid at COP16 in Riyadh, COP17 in Mongolia is expected to mark an important shift from political commitment to implementation — accelerating action on land restoration, drought resilience, sustainable food systems, rangelands and the financing needed to deliver them at scale.For UNCCD and its partners, the challenge is no longer whether the world can afford to invest in land restoration and resilience — but whether it can afford not to.With every dollar invested in sustainable land management generating between USD 7 and USD 30 in returns, the foundations established at COP16 in Riyadh, including the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership and the stronger engagement with the private sector through Business for Land are now moving into implementation.  Together, they are helping build a new global financing architecture that reduces systemic risk, strengthens food and water security, unlocks investment and demonstrates that restoring land is not simply an environmental imperative, but one of the smartest investments countries can make for long-term prosperity and resilience.

Moscú/Bonn, 26 de junio de 2026 – Desde las praderas de Kalmukia y el Cáucaso del Norte hasta las vastas estepas que se extienden por toda Eurasia, la tierra ha servido desde hace mucho tiempo de nexo entre personas, culturas y medios de vida en una de las regiones de pastizales más extensas del mundo.Hoy en día, ese paisaje compartido también conecta a países que se enfrentan a retos comunes, desde la degradación de la tierra y la sequía hasta la seguridad alimentaria y la resiliencia de los ecosistemas.Rusia ocupa un lugar importante dentro de este paisaje, puesto que alberga entre 70 y 80 millones de hectáreas de pastizales y pastos naturales entre Europa y Asia. Estos paisajes sustentan la biodiversidad, los medios de vida pastorales y la producción ganadera sostenible, al tiempo que contribuyen a los esfuerzos regionales para hacer frente a la degradación de tierras y la sequía.A medida que aumentan las presiones sobre los recursos terrestres e hídricos en toda Eurasia, la cooperación en materia de salud de las tierras y resiliencia a la sequía cobra cada vez más importancia. Estos retos comunes han llevado a Yasmine Fouad, secretaria ejecutiva de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas de Lucha contra la Desertificación (CNULD), a Moscú los días 25 y 26 de junio para impulsar la cooperación científica, la gestión sostenible del suelo y las iniciativas regionales en las zonas áridas y los pastizales de Eurasia.Au cours de sa visite, la Secrétaire exécutive de la Convention des Nations Unies sur la lutte contre la désertification (CNULCD) a rencontré de hauts représentants de la Fédération de Russie issus des secteurs des affaires étrangères, de l’environnement et de l’agriculture, notamment Rouslan Edelgeriev, conseiller du Président de la Fédération de Russie et représentant spécial du Président pour le climat et les ressources en eau ; Alexander Kozlov, ministre des Ressources naturelles et de l’Environnement de la Fédération de Russie ; Oxana Lut, ministre de l’Agriculture de la Fédération de Russie ; ainsi qu’Alexander Alimov, vice-ministre des Affaires étrangères de la Fédération de Russie.Debatieron las prioridades para hacer frente a la degradación de tierras y la sequía en toda Eurasia, incluido la ciencia, el intercambio de conocimientos y la cooperación regional. Los participantes también intercambiaron opiniones sobre los preparativos para la 17.ª sesión de la Conferencia de las Partes (COP 17) de la CNULD, que tendrá lugar en Ulán Bator (Mongolia) del 17 al 28 de agosto de 2026.Estos intercambios reafirmaron la cooperación de larga data entre la Federación de Rusia y la CNULD, así como el compromiso compartido con unos paisajes saludables y productivos en toda la región, al tiempo que se destacó la creciente importancia de la restauración de las tierras y la resiliencia ante la sequía para la seguridad alimentaria y el desarrollo sostenible. Un resultado destacable de la visita fue la firma de un memorando de entendimiento (MoU) entre la CNULD y el Instituto de Geografía de la Academia de Ciencias de Rusia. El acuerdo se basa en la cooperación de larga data entre la CNULD y los científicos rusos, reforzando el vínculo entre la ciencia, las políticas y las medidas relativas a la degradación del suelo y la sequía. La visita tuvo lugar en un momento en que los gobiernos reconocen cada vez más que la degradación del suelo y la sequía no son solo retos medioambientales, sino también cuestiones con implicaciones para la seguridad alimentaria, la resiliencia económica y el desarrollo sostenible.A nivel mundial, hasta el 40 % de la superficie terrestre está degradada, lo que afecta a casi la mitad de la humanidad. La degradación de las tierras ya cuesta a la economía mundial casi 900.000 millones de dólares al año, mientras que las sequías generan al menos 300.000 millones de dólares en pérdidas anuales.Presidente de la Federación de Rusia y Representante Especial Presidencial para el Clima y los Recursos Hídricos, señaló que los preparativos para la COP17 están entrando en una fase decisiva y subrayó la importancia de que los países de la región afronten las próximas negociaciones con “una evaluación común, una comprensión compartida de las prioridades y posiciones coordinadas”. Refiriéndose a la Caravana de la Ruta de la Seda, la describió como “un símbolo de nuestra responsabilidad compartida de preservar la tierra, el agua y los ecosistemas”, cuyo estado sustenta la estabilidad de toda la región.Los pastizales euroasiáticos se extienden a lo largo de más de 8.000 kilómetros, desde el mar Negro hasta la meseta de Mongolia, y representan aproximadamente una cuarta parte de los pastizales mundiales. Estos paisajes desempeñan un papel vital en el sustento de las comunidades, el mantenimiento de ecosistemas saludables y la ayuda a los países para adaptarse a la sequía y a la variabilidad climática.A nivel mundial, los pastizales cubren el 54% de la superficie terrestre y sustentan a unos 2.000 millones de personas, incluidos unos 500 millones de pastores. Proporcionan una sexta parte del suministro alimentario mundial y el 70% del pienso para el ganado, lo que los hace esenciales para la seguridad alimentaria, las economías rurales y la salud de los ecosistemas. Sin embargo, muchos de estos paisajes se ven sometidos a una presión cada vez mayor debido al uso insostenible de la tierra y el cambio climático.“La Federación de Rusia ha sido un socio importante de la CNULD, contribuyendo a los esfuerzos internacionales para hacer frente a la degradación de la tierra, la sequía y la gestión sostenible de la tierra”, afirmó la secretaria ejecutiva de la CNULD, Yasmine Fouad.“Nuestras conversaciones en Moscú reflejaron un entendimiento común de que la degradación de la tierra, la sequía y la inseguridad alimentaria trascienden las fronteras nacionales y requieren respuestas colectivas,” añadiFouad. "La colaboración entre gobiernos, instituciones científicas y redes regionales será esencial para impulsar soluciones prácticas, fomentar la resiliencia y apoyar el desarrollo sostenible en toda Eurasia”.Ese espíritu de cooperación también se reflejó en la participación de la secretaria ejecutiva en la decimotercera reunión de la Red del Noreste de Asia sobre Desertificación, Degradación del Suelo y Sequía (DLDD-NEAN), organizada por primera vez por la Federación de Rusia.Esta red, que reúne a países de todo el noreste de Asia, sirve de plataforma para el intercambio científico, el diálogo sobre políticas y la acción conjunta frente a retos comunes, como la degradación del suelo, la sequía y las tormentas de arena y polvo, lo que demuestra el valor de la cooperación regional a la hora de abordar los retos medioambientales que traspasan las fronteras.El Año Internacional de los Pastizales y los Pastores 2026 ha renovado la atención mundial sobre la importancia de los pastizales y las comunidades que dependen de ellos. En toda Eurasia, las comunidades pastorales han moldeado los paisajes, las culturas y las economías durante siglos, al tiempo que han contribuido a mantener la salud y la productividad de algunas de las tierras de pastoreo más extensas del mundo.Este año, ese patrimonio común se ha puesto de relieve a través de la Caravana de la Ruta de la Seda, una iniciativa emblemática de la CNULD que recorre rutas históricas a través de los pastizales euroasiáticos, al tiempo que muestra los esfuerzos para restaurar la tierra, reforzar la resiliencia ante la sequía y apoyar a las comunidades pastorales. El tramo ruso del recorrido atravesó Daguestán, Kalmukia y Astracán, poniendo de relieve tanto los retos a los que se enfrentan las tierras áridas como las oportunidades que ofrecen la gestión sostenible y la restauración de los pastizales.Mediante alianzas científicas más sólidas, el diálogo regional y la cooperación práctica sobre el terreno, los países de toda la región están contribuyendo a crear paisajes, comunidades y sistemas alimentarios más resilientes frente a las crecientes presiones medioambientales.