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Once known as China’s “Sea of Death” for its shifting dunes and frequent sandstorms, the Kubuqi Desert has changed dramatically over the past three decades. This week, that progress provided the backdrop for the 10th Kubuqi International Desert Forum in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. The gathering, co-organized by the UNCCD and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), alongside China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Government, brought together international organizations, government officials, experts, scholars and entrepreneurs to exchange solutions for land restoration under the theme “Combat Desertification Scientifically and Promote Green Development.” A global challenge that cannot wait Across the globe, land degradation is accelerating worldwide. Today, 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded, directly affecting nearly half of humanity. Every year, at least 100 million hectares of healthy land are lost-an area the size of Egypt-driven by unsustainable land use and climate change. The economic impact is severe: nearly USD 900 billion is lost annually to desertification, land degradation and drought. Droughts, already more frequent and intense, are now up by one third since 2000, causing more than USD 300 billion in losses each year. By 2050, three out of four people on Earth are expected to be affected. Yet solutions exist. UNCCD data shows that every dollar invested in land restoration can generate up to USD 27 in returns, strengthening food systems, creating jobs and helping communities withstand climate shocks. From “Sea of Death” to productive land Against this backdrop, the Kubuqi Desert shows what is possible when science, policy and community action come together. In recent years, restoration has expanded rapidly across the dunes. Forests and vegetation now cover areas that once produced only sand and dust. More than half a million hectares have been restored, reducing sandstorms, stabilizing soils and preventing huge volumes of sediment from flowing into the Yellow River. Bringing renewable energy into restoration made a real difference. Solar farms established on degraded land not only generate clean power but also create conditions for vegetation to grow. This approach—known as “PV + Desertification Control”—has created new jobs, raised household incomes and demonstrated that tackling land degradation can also drive prosperity. In parts of Inner Mongolia, farmers now earn much of their income from forestry and fruit grown on once-barren land — proof that healthy ecosystems can support sustainable economies.  When we restore our land, we restore human dignity In her video message to the Forum, UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad underlined that the lessons of Kubuqi extend far beyond China, showing how land restoration can transform both ecosystems and societies:  “The Kubuqi model teaches us a fundamental truth: When we restore our land, we restore human dignity. It means jobs, over one hundred thousand of them. It means new industries that sustain families. It means communities that no longer see the desert as an adversary but as a partner in their future. And this transformation was not the work of one sector alone. It was a collective work — of government, business, and communities standing shoulder to shoulder, working hand in hand.” Shared lessons, shared future The Forum was not only about Inner Mongolia. Delegates from regions severely affected by desertification, from Mongolia to the Sahel, shared their own efforts and highlighted how cooperation is essential. Mongolia’s forestry officials described their national campaign to plant one billion trees, while voices from Africa and Latin America pointed to the value of exchanging technologies and practices — from fire monitoring to sustainable pastoralism. The Forum also featured voices from the UNCCD Land Heroes, which showcases young leaders advancing land restoration and sustainable livelihoods worldwide. Among them was Rokiatou Traoré, a Malian entrepreneur who founded Herou Alliance to empower women and youth through sustainable Moringa production. She highlighted the power of collective action: “China has proven to the world that, with political commitment and community engagement, we can turn a desert into an oasis. Beyond preserving our environment, growing trees can increase GDP and provide income for communities. Science and technology are our best allies to restore degraded land and improve our economies.” Takudzwa Ashley Mlambo of Zimbabwe, Founder and Head of Agroforestry and Innovation at Forestry & Citrus Research (FACIR), where he leads The Greater Green Project, stressed the importance of technology: “The Forum has shown me innovative drone, satellite and IoT solutions for restoring degraded land, alongside models that integrate photovoltaic systems with plants and animals. If scaled to Sub-Saharan Africa, I believe we can achieve our Land Degradation Neutrality goals.” Linking local success to global goals For UNCCD, the experience in Kubuqi offers lessons with global relevance. Governments have pledged to restore one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030, with nearly half of these commitments made under the Convention’s framework. Meeting this goal will require mobilizing at least USD one billion per day over the next five years, but the gains in resilience, food security and livelihoods make it clear this investment is worth it. Local communities, farmers and herders have played a strong role in restoration—from planting vegetation and leading cooperatives to running small businesses. Their efforts demonstrate how recovery of the land can also bring social and economic benefits.  As the Forum concludes, its message is clear: land can be restored, and when it is, both people and nature benefit. 

The leaders of the three Rio Conventions recently met in Bonn to chart the next stage of their collaboration. Yasmine Fouad, the new UNCCD Executive Secretary, chaired the meeting of the Joint Liaison Group, welcoming her counterparts Simon Stiell of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Astrid Schomaker of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Together, they discussed priority actions for 2025–2026 and pledged to strengthen cooperation to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. One immediate outcome of the meeting is the launch of the Rio Synergies platform, unveiled to showcase how the three conventions are stepping up joint action. The new website highlights the benefits of integrated approaches and provides a window into how countries, communities and institutions can work across climate, biodiversity and land agendas.Some 30 years ago, at the Rio Earth Summit, the world agreed on three landmark treaties to protect the planet: the UNCCD, the CBD and the UNFCCC. Each tackles a different piece of the environmental puzzle—but all share one truth: climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation are deeply connected, and solving one equals tackling them together.The rationale for closer cooperation is clear: Humanity is on track to reach ten billion people by 2050, just as nature’s life-support systems are reaching breaking point. Almost one million species are at risk of extinction. Three-quarters of the planet’s land has been transformed by human activity. And if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked, the world is set to overshoot the 1.5°C warming limit within decades.At the heart of cooperation is a shared conviction: when climate, land and biodiversity goals are pursued together, the results are stronger, more cost-effective and longer lasting. By linking their mandates, the Rio conventions are committed to turning overlapping challenges into shared opportunities—delivering solutions that benefit people, economies and ecosystems alike.The new platform demonstrates how this can work in practice. It showcases key areas for action, such as sustainable land use planning, nature-positive food production, renewable energy transition and gender-responsive action. It also highlights country case studies where integrated projects are already making a difference: Rwanda’s nationwide restoration strategy combining reforestation, agroforestry and land recovery; Central Asia’s efforts to restore vast degraded steppes as carbon sinks; and Panama’s “Nature Pledge,” which unites its climate, biodiversity and land commitments under a single national framework, among others.The Rio synergies approach is centered around three pillars. First is country support: helping governments strengthen policies, develop integrated plans and build negotiation skills through joint capacity-building. Second is coherence and complementarity: aligning work on shared themes like food systems, forests and water, and engaging Indigenous Peoples and youth. Third is outreach and visibility: speaking with one voice at global events, promoting a joint narrative and sharing inspiring examples of synergy in action.As the three Executive Secretaries agreed, climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation are not separate challenges—they are different symptoms of one planetary crisis. By strengthening synergies, the Rio Conventions aim to help humanity heal its relationship with nature and build a more resilient, sustainable future for all. The Rio journey now leads to 2026 — the triple COP year when all three conventions will hold their governing conferences— a pivotal convergence to align national commitments, showcase joint solutions and generate the political momentum needed to translate promises into action on the ground.Join the Rio journey at https://rioconventions.org

In the past decade, the world has made a historic push to prepare for drought before it strikes, unlocking solutions in policy, practice, and finance. Humanity has never been better equipped to face this growing challenge. The next step, experts say, is using all the available knowledge and expertise to build drought resilience for everyone, everywhere. At World Water Week, held in Stockholm from 24 to 28 August, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), co-convened leading experts to highlight success cases and new initiatives for drought resilience.Here are five takeaways from the session ‘Accelerating Drought Resilience in a Changing Climate:’Systemic measures for a systemic riskFar from only affecting agriculture, drought can have long-lasting impacts on all sectors of society, the economy and ecosystems —-uprooting people from their lands, stunting the development of entire generations, and causing GDPs to plummet by up to 10 per cent. Drought is a systemic risk, but too often, it is addressed with piecemeal measures.“Water crosses so many boundaries as it moves from the tops of mountains through ecosystems towards the ocean: administrative, legal, cultural, ecological boundaries,” said Global Director of Freshwater Outcomes at TNC Nicole Silk. “That is why we need to work across systems, sectors, borders, and scales to build drought resilience”.In that spirit, the nonprofit is supporting the implementation of nature-based solutions across entire watersheds in collaboration with communities, the private sector, and governments. Protecting key ecological functions is a nature-based solution, as are financial innovations.One example is TNC's work in the Tana River in Kenya, which supplies 95% of the water for Nairobi’s 4 million residents, feeds one of the country’s main agricultural areas, and provides half of the country’s hydropower output. In the past 50 years, the substitution of agricultural fields for forests and wetlands had reduced the ability of the land to store runoff water and hold the soil, compromising the water security of millions.Enter the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund. The mechanism, which TNC kickstarted in 2015 as is now an independent Kenyan-registered entity, has public and private donors and major water consumers downstream contribute resources to support water and soil conservation measures upstream, which is improving water quality and supply.No-regret investments Protecting ecosystems, managing land and water resources sustainably, and restoring degraded land are some of the most effective and sustainable ways of building drought resilience. But the benefits of nature-based solutions go way beyond drought.Every dollar invested in nature-based solutions (NbS) can generate up to US$27 in improved ecosystem services and livelihoods —-a no-regret investment, according to a recent report launched at UNCCD COP16 and as evidenced by the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative.“More intense and frequent droughts are the new normal,” said Senior Policy Officer at BMZ Mario Lootz-Petersen. “Our goal is to make nature-based solutions a new normal, as well. The evidence and the tools are definitely there.” For the expert, one of the keys is continuing to build robust business cases and models around sustainable land and water management with a view to scaling up the many successful initiatives around the world.Tailored approaches While the pillars of drought resilience are universal, each context requires its own tailored solutions. Hence the importance of adapting drought resilience approaches to different realities.“A key question is how we can localize drought resilience solutions such as climate-smart agriculture, drought insurance, and water-storage innovation,” said Giriraj Amarnath, Principal Researcher on Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).Through the Drought Action Catalyst, experts, decision-makers, and communities can come together to co-design and scale solutions for drought. The IWMI-led platform, launched at UNCCD COP16, also promotes South-South learning; an integrated action across sectors like agriculture, health, and infrastructure, and even an AI-based chatbot to help farmers tackle drought.From policies to practice With support from UNCCD, more than 70 countries have put in place national plans to manage drought risk, up from three only a decade ago. In parallel, the convention is hosting two major initiatives on drought resilience and is collaborating with academic, research and civil society organizations to bridge policy and practice.One of the UNCCD-hosted initiatives is the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), which is building political momentum and developing tools to help countries anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to drought —for example, the International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO). The other is the Riyadh Drought Resilience Partnership (RDRP), which will financially support 74 vulnerable countries in implementing their national drought plans from early 2026, as explained by Policy Officer with the UNCCD Daniel Tsegai. The idea is to invest in people, land, and ecosystems today, so that communities can thrive tomorrow.Additionally, the Convention and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) have launched a series of regional and global  Communities of Learning and Practice (CLP) —an agora where practitioners, decision-makers and scientists can learn from each other, ask for advice, and share new developments on drought-related matters.“I cannot overstate how important peer-to-peer learning is when it comes to accelerating drought action on the ground,” said Tsegai, who stressed the importance of sustainable land and water management. “Together, we can go further, faster —and the CLPs provide a safe space to do just that.”Beyond early warningIn Africa, UNCCD teamed up with the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) —an IDRA partner— and the National Drought Mitigation Center/ University of Nebraska-Lincoln (NDMC/UNL) to create a drought impact tracker for countries in the region. The tool looks to empower farmers to report on drought signs and impacts using their phones, contributing to improve drought management.A project led by the GWP is now integrating the impact tracker into efforts to improve early warning systems in Eastern Africa. For GWP specialist Anjali Lohani, the move shows the importance of integrating existing tools and insights, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.“So much knowledge already exists, so a priority is to make it available and accessible to those who need it,” said Lohani, who also noted the importance of building the capacity of communities to act on early warning messages. “Knowing that drought is coming is not enough; you need to have preparedness and response capabilities in place.”

As the planet continues to warm, harsher droughts, extreme heat and erratic rainfall are eroding the food security and livelihoods of millions – especially the smallholder farmers who produce one third of the world’s food. Over the past three decades, disasters have caused US$3.8 trillion in crop and livestock losses globally. But in regions like Africa, only three per cent of family farmers have agricultural insurance, leaving millions exposed to shocks. Meanwhile, land degradation and drought are pushing rural communities deeper into poverty, jeopardizing the ability to feed a growing world population.  One way to address the challenge is reducing insurance premiums for farmers who manage the land sustainably, as explained by a new report commissioned by UNCCD and funded by the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) This innovative model leverages mobile and satellite technologies, behavioral science and systems thinking to provide financial protection while promoting sustainable land use. The report, called ‘Securing Land and Livelihoods: Insurance for Drought Resilience,’ shows the practical and economic benefits of the model through case studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and the Horn of Africa. To put it in practice, authors recommend building public-private partnerships, establishing pilot projects and embedding these solutions into national development plans and climate risk strategies. This integrated model reflects UNCCD’s commitment to solutions that align land management, insurance innovation and resilience-building for the communities most affected by land degradation and drought. A pilot project is underway in Namibia, with progress to be shared at UNCCD CRIC23 this December, and the project findings to be presented at a dedicated insurance event during UNCCD COP16 in 2026. 

Civil society is on the frontline of the land challenge — and they are essential partners for the UNCCD. From farmers’ associations to women’s cooperatives and youth networks, civil society organizations (CSOs) bring local realities to the global stage. The CSOs amplify the lived reality that land degradation is not only an environmental issue but as a direct challenge to livelihoods, food security and the future of our communities. Today, nearly 1,200 are accredited to the UNCCD and their engagement supported and coordinated through the UNCCD CSO Panel. This structure ensures that voices from local communities are heard in international negotiations, connecting grassroots experience with global policymaking on the future of our land.At the heart of the Convention’s work is Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) — the global commitment to balance the amount of healthy and productive land with the land being degraded. The goal is simple but urgent: by 2030, reduce degradation, restore what has been lost and make sure there is no net loss of healthy, productive land.  To turn this ambition into action, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) launched the Medium Size Project “Strengthening Civil Society Role in Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (CS4LDN).”  Backed by two million USD in funding, this three-year initiative is implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and executed by Both ENDS on behalf of the Drynet network, with IUCN also serving as co-executor. The project is carried out in close partnership with the UNCCD CSO Panel, the UNCCD Secretariat and other global stakeholders. Through CS4LDN, civil society organizations are better positioned to influence LDN policy and practice — linking community-driven initiatives with international decision-making. The project focuses on two main areas: Influencing LDN – raising the visibility and policy impact of CSOs in LDN efforts. This includes building skills in advocacy and communication, promoting local initiatives and supporting CSO participation in global forums such as UNCCD COP and CRIC events.Leveraging LDN – Improving CSO access to funding by strengthening fundraising skills and building connections with donors. Activities range from training and donor roundtables to a study on funding barriers, with special focus on challenges faced by CSOs in the Global South.  CS4LDN follows a collaborative, cross-learning approach. Webinars, mentorships and workshops strengthen CSO capacity, while knowledge is shared through an online platform, newsletters and storytelling. A strong focus is placed on amplifying voices from youth- and women-led initiatives. The project is guided by a Project Management Unit (Both ENDS and IUCN) and a Steering Committee that includes the Drynet Board, IUCN, the UNCCD CSO Panel and the UNCCD Secretariat. It will also support CSO consultations and participation in major gatherings, including UNCCD CRIC23 in Panama this December as well as Désertif’actions and UNCCD COP17 in 2026. Photo: © IISD/ENB Anastasia Rodopoulou

Mongolia has unveiled the official logo for the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), taking place in Ulaanbaatar from 17 to 28 August 2026. The emblem blends deep cultural symbolism with a call to global action, reflecting UNCCD’s mission to unite nations in finding solutions to desertification, land degradation and drought. The unveiling of the logo marks the beginning of one-year countdown to UNCCD COP17. More than a visual identity, it is an invitation to join hands in planting seeds of unity, resilience and shared trust — so that lands once degraded may flourish again.  At the top of the logo, radiating sunrays recall the eternal expanse of the sky — a life-giving force in Mongolian cosmology — which echoes the Sustainable Development Goals and represents the solutions to environmental challenges faced by humanity. The rays flow into the silhouette of a traditional Mongolian ger (yurt), crowned with a toono — the circular opening through which the sky enters the home. This symbol of harmony between people and nature echoes the timeless wisdom of nomadic life and the belief that the earth is both homeland and heritage. Beneath, an open hand cradles the Earth with gentle strength, a gesture of stewardship and protection, while from the palm a green sprout emerges — a sign of resilience, renewal and the promise of a restored world. Together, these elements express COP17’s central message: that our collective efforts, diverse knowledge and shared responsibility can transform the challenges of land degradation into opportunities. With over 75 per cent of its land affected by degradation, Mongolia has made land restoration a national priority through initiatives such as the “Billions of Trees” movement, the “White Gold” rural development programme and the “Food Revolution” agri-soil campaign. Hosting UNCCD COP17 will provide a platform to share these experiences while catalyzing global cooperation to address the interlinked crises of land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss.  UNCCD COP17 will bring together delegates from 197 Parties, academia, civil society and private sector to advance drought resilience and land restoration goals. The conference aligns with the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), an initiative championed by Mongolia to highlight sustainable rangeland management and the needs of over one billion people who depend directly on these ecosystems.