UNITED NATIONS

JOURNAL

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties
17–28 August 2026
UNCCD
Monday, 17 August 2026
Content last updated on: 17 Sep 2026 17:01 CEST

Programme of Meetings and Agenda

Conference of the Parties

09:00–10:00
Plenary Hall

COP 17 Opening ceremony

10:00–13:00
Plenary Hall

COP 1st meeting

Opening of the session by the President of the Conference of the Parties at its sixteenth session 

 

Organizational matters [item 1]

 

(a)  Election of the President 

 

Statement by the President of the Conference of the Parties at its seventeenth session 

 

Statement by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 

 

Statements by the representatives of regional and interest groups 

 

Statement by a representative of non-governmental organizations

 

 

Organizational matters [item 1]

 

(b)  Adoption of the agenda (ICCD/COP(17)/1/Rev.1)

 

(c)  Election of officers other than the President: 

       (i)  Election of Vice-Presidents

 

(e)  Accreditation of intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations and representatives from the private sector, and admission of observers (ICCD/COP(17)/INF.6)

 

(f)  Organization of work, including the sessions of the subsidiary bodies

 

15:00–18:00
MET-08

COP 2nd meeting

Formal statements

 

Formal statements session

Final list of speakers

 

Cook Islands (on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States): View statement

Turkmenistan (on behalf of UNCCD Interregional group Central Asia-Russia): View statement

Canada: View statement

France: View statement

Chile: View statement

Ukraine: View statement

Brazil: View statement

Indonesia: View statement

Egypt: View statement

Australia: View statement

Republic of Moldova: View statement

Suriname: View statement

Italy: View statement

Sri Lanka: View statement

Iraq: View statement

Kenya: View statement

Russian Federation: View statement

Bangladesh: View statement

Algeria: View statement

Armenia: View statement

Syrian Arab Republic: View statement

Mexico: View statement

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: View statement

United States: View statement

Guyana: View statement

Peru: View statement

Pakistan: View statement

Sudan

Lesotho: View statement

Nigeria

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Azerbaijan: View statement

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): View statement

Food and Agriculture Organization: View statement

International Fund for Agricultural Development: View statement

 

Committee of the Whole

15:00–18:00
Plenary Hall

COW 1st meeting

Programme and budget for the biennium 2027–2028 [item 7]

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

  • Report on the status of contributions to the Convention trust funds (2025–2026)
    (ICCD/COP(17)/INF.7)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

Final report of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Future Strategic Framework of the Convention (Item 3)
(ICCD/CRIC(23)/4 and Add.1, ICCD/COP(17)/2, ICCD/COP(17)/12)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

Policy frameworks and thematic issues (Item 5)

 

     Introduction and discussion

Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

15:00–18:00
Main Committee

CRIC 1st meeting

Organizational matters (Item 1)

 

(a) Adoption of the agenda and organization of work (ICCD/CRIC(24)/1/Rev.1) 

 

 

Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels (Item 2)

 

(a) Review of the report of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention on its twenty-third session (ICCD/CRIC(23)/8 and ICCD/CRIC(24)/5)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

(b) Multi-year workplan for Convention institutions and subsidiary bodies (ICCD/COP(17)/12 and ICCD/COP(17)/7)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

(c) Performance of Convention institutions and subsidiary bodies (ICCD/COP(17)/INF.4)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

Contact groups

18:00–20:15
MET-11

CoW Contact Group on Other Matters

(closed meeting)
18:15–20:00
MET-15

CoW Contact Group on Budget

(closed meeting)

Regional consultations

The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
08:00–09:00
MET-27

JUSCANZ

(closed meeting)
09:00–10:00
MET-26

EU Coordination Meeting

(closed meeting)

Other meetings

The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
08:00–10:00
MET-03

CSO Consultation

(closed meeting)
08:00–09:00
MET-30

Indigenous Peoples Consultation

08:00–09:00
MET-09

Pacific SIDS Daily Coordination Meetings

(closed meeting)
13:00–14:00
MET-31

League of Arab States

(closed meeting)
13:00–14:30
MET-16

Press Conference

17:00–19:00
MET-30

Indigenous Peoples Caucus

Side events

The information below is reproduced as received and does not imply any opinion or endorsement by the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
08:30–10:00
MET-02

151 (Beijing Forestry University) Scientific Pathways for Restoring the Mongolian Plateau: Climate Change, Desertification Dynamics, and Support for Mongolia’s Billion Trees Initiative

08:30–10:00
MET-01

223 (KSA) Sustainable Water Management in Arid Regions: The Role of Water Sector Governance in Saudi Arabia in Achieving Water Security

08:30–10:00
MET-04

707 (Rights and Resources Institute) Moving Rights Forward: Advancing Pastoralist Rights and Customary Tenure Through Legal and Policy Change

08:30–10:00
MET-23

800 (Natural Resources & Watershed Management Org. of Iran (NRWO)) Best Practices of Iran in Combating Desertification and SDS management

10:30–12:00
MET-04

357 (UNCCD Earthbanc) From LDN targets to investable projects

10:30–12:00
MET-03

428 (Young Professionals For Agricultural Development -YPARD) Young people fostering multisectoral partnerships to combat desertification and promote synergies under the Rio Conventions

10:30–12:00
MET-02

558 (Future Forest) Mobilizing CSOs and Youths for Future Earth

10:30–12:00
MET-05

850 (Republic of Kazakhstan) Strengthening Global Water Governance in Addressing Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought

13:00–14:30
MET-07

122 (UNCCD , United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, The Kaschak Institute, Landesa) Establishing a Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the UNCCD Gender Action Plan (GAP)

13:00–14:30
MET-23

126 (Comité Scientifique Français de la Désertification) Pastoral Systems & the Rio Conventions: Science for Policy and Finance to Unlock Co-Benefits

13:00–14:30
MET-01

213 (KSA) Addressing Global Water Challenges, Journey to the 11th World Water Forum

13:00–14:30
MET-02

286 (Wayfinders Circle/ WUISP/ Nia Tero / Pawanka Fund) Indigenous Peoples Pastoralists: Managing and Restoring Ancestral Lands through Intergenerational transmission of Knowledge and Self governance practices

13:00–14:30
MET-22

318 (The Corbett Foundation) Community-based Restoration of Grasslands: A Sustainable Model from Kutch, Gujarat, India

13:00–14:30
MET-24

324 (Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Mongolia Office) JICA’s Initiatives for Climate and Environmental Sustainability in Mongolia

13:00–14:30
MET-05

704 (Water Youth Network) From COP to the UN Water Conference: Youth Priorities for a Just Water Agenda

13:00–14:30
MET-04

99 (High Atlas Foundation) Rooted in Change: Women’s Leadership in Agriculture as Morocco’s Carbon Opportunity

15:00–16:30
MET-22

204 (CEMADEN MCTI and Instituto Nacional do Semiárido, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande) Social Technologies for Reversing Risk of Drought and Desertification: Building Resilience, Prosperity and Sustainability Across the Latin America’s Drylands

15:00–16:30
MET-03

332 (RAED - Arab Network for Environment and Development) Sustainable Agriculture in Dry Areas in the Arab Region

15:00–16:30
MET-05

338 (UNDP, UNEP and UNCCD) Unlocking Land Restoration Financing for Resilience and Stability in Fragile and Conflict-affected Settings

15:00–16:30
MET-23

347 (Wetlands International, Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia (WSCC), Greifswald Mire Center & FAO) Peatlands as Nature-based Solutions for LDN, Drought Resilience and Climate Action

15:00–16:30
MET-06

439 (IUCN/Global EbA Fund) Financing resilience – scaling ecosystem-based solutions for degraded lands through integrated research, action, finance and policy

15:00–16:30
MET-24

469 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Investing in Pastoral Futures: Responsible Investment for Resilient and Healthy Rangelands

15:00–16:30
MET-07

633 (National Environmental Youth Council of Mongolia) International Young Land Professionals Networking Event

15:00–16:30
MET-01

642 (FSC-Indigenous Foundation) The Role of Forest in Mitigating Land Degradation

15:00–16:30
MET-04

705 (Conservation International) Integrated Land Use Planning in Practice: Advancing Inclusive and Data-Driven Decision Support

18:00–19:30
MET-22

107 (Kaschak Institute, UN Women, Women Land Rights Initiative, Panama and Germany / BMZ) High-level dialogue on the path to an enhanced GAP under the UNCCD

18:00–19:30
MET-03

492 (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), in collaboration with Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change India, IUCN, CoE-SLM of ICFRE, and Space application centre, ISRO, India) Launch of first ever Guide on India

18:00–19:30
MET-02

662 (Council of Europe and other partners (Spain)) Landscapes for Resilience: A Multifaceted Response to Land Degradation, Climate Stress and Social Vulnerability

18:00–19:30
MET-01

71 (UNU-IAS, IPSI, EcoAgriculture Partners, 1000 Landscapes for a Billion People Initiative, UNDP, CGIAR, Yolda Initiative , Ambition Loop) The imperative to finance landscape and territorial scale governance to achieve multiple policy-action goals

18:00–19:30
MET-23

81 (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)) Atelier préparatoire des pays francophones

Forthcoming official meetings
Tuesday, 18 August 2026

Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

10:00–13:00
Plenary Hall

CRIC 2nd meeting

Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels (Item 2)

 

(d) Development and promotion of activities for targeted capacity-building to further the implementation of the Convention (ICCD/CRIC(24)/3 and ICCD/CRIC(24)/5)


     Interactive dialogue 


 

15:00–18:00
Plenary Hall

CRIC 3rd meeting

Securing of additional investments and relations with financial mechanisms (Item 4)

 

(a) Report by the Global Environment Facility on the financing of programmes and projects concerning desertification, land degradation and drought 
(ICCD/CRIC(24)/INF.1)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

(b) Report by the Global Mechanism on progress made in the mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Convention, matters relating to Sustainable Development Goal 15.3, and the facilitation of involvement of the private sector (ICCD/CRIC(24)/2 and ICCD/CRIC(24)/5)


     Interactive dialogue 
 

Committee on Science and Technology

10:00–13:00
Main Committee

CST 1st meeting

Organizational matters (Item 1)

 

(a) Adoption of the agenda and organization of work 
(ICCD/COP(17)/CST/1)

 

Interfacing science and policy, and sharing knowledge (Item 3)

 

(c) Synthesis report on supplementary technical guidance to support aridity and drought planning and adaptation across the Rio conventions and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (ICCD/COP(17)/CST/2, ICCD/COP(17)/CST/8) 


     Interactive dialogue

 

15:00–18:00
Main Committee

CST 2nd meeting

Interfacing science and policy, and sharing knowledge (Item 3)

 

(a) Knowledge sharing, technology transfer and innovation 
(ICCD/COP(17)/CST/3, ICCD/COP(17)/CST/8)

 

     Introduction and discussion

 

Future functioning of the Science-Policy Interface (Item 4)
(ICCD/COP(17)/CST/5, ICCD/COP(17)/CST/8, ICCD/COP(17)/CST/INF.2)

 

     Introduction and discussion

Announcements

Credentials

Delegations are advised to contact Ms. Aphrodite Smagadi (+976 99204285) in Office no. 0-15.

Ministerial Speakers List

The speakers list for the three Ministerial Dialogues (24-26 August) is open to Parties and Observers to sign up their high-level representatives. Please be advised that inscription to the speakers’ list is not a guarantee of being given the floor. The speakers list will close at the end of the day on Saturday, 22 August 2026.

https://grih.info/cop17-ministerial-dialogue-intervention-request/

Zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse

Inclusion Is Protection 

The United Nations maintains a strict policy of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) — a commitment that applies equally to persons with disabilities, who can face heightened risk and greater barriers to reporting. 

Every staff member, volunteer, and partner shares responsibility for creating accessible, safe, and respectful spaces for everyone we serve.

Stop, Prevent, Protect 

  • STOP – Zero tolerance for inaction on reports of SEA 
  • PREVENT – Training and accessible awareness for all personnel 
  • PROTECT – Confidential, survivor-centred support with no retaliation

The UNCCD Conference App

The UNCCD Conference App is an easy tool for participants of official UNCCD events to have access to the latest schedule of events at COP17, including official sessions and meetings, as well as side events in the Blue Zone.

The App also contains all official documents and other relevant information related to the UNCCD process and conference logistics, for COP, CST and CRIC, and allows you to receive notifications on changes. 

The App is available in Apple and Google Play store. 

Medical Support and Emergency Response

Medical services will be provided throughout the event by qualified healthcare professionals, ensuring that assistance is readily available. The Medical Care Centers are  located in the (1) Registration Area , in (2) Zone A, near MET-10; and in (3) ZONE C near MET-16.

Emergency Response:

  • Immediate Action: Medical vehicles will be stationed on-site to ensure a rapid response in case of emergencies.

  • Coordination with Local Services: Collaboration with local emergency teams will be ensured to manage serious medical situations effectively.

  • Health and Safety Standards: All procedures will adhere to the most current guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health authorities.

  • Ambulance Placement: Ambulances will be strategically located at key areas, including the Blue Zone and VIP sections, to ensure quick access to medical care.

You can find a list of Emergency Contact Numbers HERE. 

Ulaanbaatar Emergency number is 105 (reachable without a SIM card). 

Electronic Information Service

Delegations are advised that wireless internet access is available throughout the venue. The network name is UNCCD-Public, and the password is unccd1706

A Computer Center is located in Area-C, providing 100 workstations and printing facilities. An ICT Helpdesk counter is also available in the same area to assist with technical support.

A link to the stream of the meetings of the COP 17 session can be found on the UN Web TV website, the COP 17 page of the UNCCD website.

Meeting Rooms for Regional and Interest Groups

Requests for inclusion in the schedule of meetings of regional and interest groups should be communicated to:

Kayhan UI ( kul [at] unccd.int (kul[at]unccd[dot]int) ) or Mahamadou Tari Bako (mbako [at] unccd.int (mbako[at]unccd[dot]int) ).

Shuttle schedule

Several shuttle buses are being offered by the Government of Mongolia. The full schedule can be accessed here:

https://unccdcop17.org/

Lost and Found

The Lost and Found service is located near the Registration area, offering convenient access near the Main Entrance.