Silk Road Caravan 2026
The Silk Road Caravan is a landmark journey across one of the world’s historic corridors of exchange, symbolically connecting nations from Riyadh to Ulaanbaatar in the year of UNCCD COP17 and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
Moving through countries connected for centuries by long-distance trade, flow of ideas and intermingling of cultures, the journey shines a light on rangelands — vast landscapes that sustain livelihoods, biodiversity and food systems yet remain largely overlooked.
The Silk Road
For centuries, the Silk Road was more than a trade route. It was a pathway of exchange, carrying knowledge, culture, technologies and ideas across Eurasia. Caravans connected distant regions, stopping at cities and landscapes shaped by movement, dialogue and adaptation. Today, these same regions face shared challenges linked to land degradation, climate change and livelihoods. Following the fabled Silk Road, the journey will reconnect places historically linked together, using an iconic symbol to tell stories of land, resilience and cooperation.
Rangelands and pastoralists
Rangelands cover more than half of the Earth’s land surface and support the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, particularly pastoralists and dryland communities. These landscapes provide food, water regulation, biodiversity and cultural heritage, yet they are among the most undervalued and increasingly degraded ecosystems.
Pastoralist communities hold deep knowledge of managing land under harsh and changing conditions. This journey places rangelands and their stewards at the center, showcasing restoration efforts and lived experience across regions where land health and livelihoods are inseparable.
Follow The Journey
Along the way, the Caravan will document land restoration efforts, pastoralist knowledge and local solutions, showcasing approaches to restoration that can be exchanged across diverse rangeland landscapes.
Building on outcomes from UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, the journey is also a visual storytelling project, accompanied by a film crew to capture stories and visuals that connect global audiences to land, landscapes and hope.
