Loading…
The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification opened in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on 17 August 2026 and runs to 28 August.
The theme is 'Restoring Land, Restoring Hope'; Mongolia is the first country in East and Central Asia to host a UNCCD COP.
Nearly 77 per cent of Mongolia's land is degraded, making the host itself a case study in the convention's subject.
The UNCCD has 197 Parties - 196 countries and the European Union - and is the only legally binding international agreement on sustainable land management.
Its central goal is Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030; India hosted COP14 in New Delhi in 2019.
Sustainable land management, reversing land degradation and mitigating drought in drylands; target of Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030
Stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations; parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement
Conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources
The Rio Earth Summit; Agenda 21 recommends negotiating a convention on desertification
UNCCD adopted at Paris; the date is now World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
The convention enters into force
India hosts COP14 at New Delhi, which adopts the Delhi Declaration; India holds the COP presidency for the following two years
COP16 held at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - the first UNCCD COP in West Asia
COP17 at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, themed 'Restoring Land, Restoring Hope'
GS Paper III > Environment - international conventions, land degradation and desertification
General Awareness > International organisations and environment current affairs
General Awareness > Environment and international current affairs
General Awareness > International current affairs
Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities - it is not the natural expansion of existing deserts.
A state in which the amount and quality of land resources needed to support ecosystem functions and food security remains stable or increases; the UNCCD's 2030 target.
Arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, the geographical scope of the UNCCD.
The UNCCD body that helps developing countries mobilise finance for sustainable land management.
A country-level plan under the convention, required to be prepared with the participation of local communities and land users.