{"id":121827,"date":"2026-08-31T16:04:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=121827"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:04:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:34:52","slug":"unccd-cop17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/unccd-cop17\/","title":{"rendered":"UNCCD COP17, Key Outcomes, India&#8217;s Initiatives, Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>17th Conference of Parties (COP17)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to th<\/span><b>e United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was held in <\/span><b>Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, from 17 to 28 August 2026 under the <\/span><b>theme \u201cRestoring Land. Restoring Hope.\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference focused on land restoration, drought resilience, rangelands, pastoralist livelihoods and sustainable land management. With <\/span><b>land degradation affecting up to 40% of the world\u2019s land<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, COP17 sought to strengthen practical action, finance and community participation for restoring degraded landscapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/united-nations-convention-to-combat-desertification\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a legally binding international framework established in <\/span><b>1994 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to combat desertification, land degradation and the effects of drought, particularly in drylands.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Convention entered into force in <\/span><b>1996<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and currently has <\/span><b>197 Parties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/european-union-eu\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>European Union<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is the <\/span><b>only legally binding global framework specifically addressing desertification and drought.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UNCCD follows the principles of participation, partnership and decentralisation, recognising the role of governments, local communities, scientists, civil society and other stakeholders in land management.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its broader<\/span><b> objective<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is not merely to prevent desertification but to promote land restoration, sustainable land management and drought resilience, thereby supporting food security, water security, livelihoods and ecosystems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About UNCCD COP17<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Conference of Parties (COP) is the main decision-making body of the UNCCD.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>COP17 was hosted by Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from 17-28 August 2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>theme \u201cRestoring Land. Restoring Hope.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d reflected the focus on converting land restoration commitments into practical action.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COP17 brought together representatives of the UNCCD\u2019s 197 Parties, along with scientists, governments, businesses, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, youth and civil society.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference focused particularly on rangelands, drought resilience, water, food systems, land restoration and sustainable land management.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its significance was enhanced by <\/span><b>2026 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">being the <\/span><b>International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, providing a global platform to address the degradation of rangelands and the livelihoods dependent on them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>UNCCD COP17 Key Outcomes and Highlights\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCCD COP17 sought to move the global approach from declarations towards implementation, finance and community-led restoration.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Greater Focus on Rangelands and Pastoralists<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCCD COP17 placed rangelands and pastoral communities at the centre of efforts to tackle land degradation and drought.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rangelands cover about 54% of the Earth\u2019s land surface <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and support the livelihoods of nearly 2 billion people, including around 500 million pastoralists.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Rangelands Flagship Initiative <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was launched to fund projects that restore degraded rangelands, improve their sustainable management and strengthen the livelihoods of pastoral communities.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initiative brings together around US$1.2 billion across 45 projects, making it the largest mobilisation for rangelands under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initiative recognises pastoralists as custodians of rangelands, giving greater importance to their traditional knowledge and participation in land management.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also emphasises secure land rights, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/biodiversity-conservation\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>biodiversity conservation<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/food-security-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>food security<\/strong><\/a> and sustainable pastoral livelihoods.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Shift from Drought Response to Drought Resilience<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCCD COP17 strengthened the emphasis on anticipatory and resilience-based drought management rather than responding only after drought occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drought resilience requires early warning systems, preparedness, risk reduction, adaptation and coordinated action.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The approach seeks to integrate drought management into agriculture, water management, disaster risk reduction and development planning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>UNCCD and Luxembourg also launched the Drought Resilience Investment Facility, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">aimed at mobilising up to US$400 million in public and private capital for drought resilience.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Stronger Emphasis on Land Restoration Finance<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major focus of COP17 was to treat land restoration as an investment opportunity rather than merely an environmental cost.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Governments, development banks, funds and companies announced a <\/span><b>US$1.3 billion portfolio of finance across 23 countries for land restoration and drought resilience.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discussions emphasised the use of public finance, concessional resources, guarantees, insurance and private investment to scale up restoration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Greater Role for Local Communities<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COP17 highlighted that restoration is more effective when local communities are involved in planning, implementation and stewardship.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Community-led approaches were promoted for rangeland management, ecosystem restoration and drought resilience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference also sought greater recognition of pastoralist, Indigenous, farming and other local communities as implementation partners.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India at UNCCD COP17<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India used COP17 to present its approach to rangeland restoration, drought resilience, open natural ecosystems and community-based conservation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s First Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>India launched its first-ever Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs) of India at UNCCD COP17.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guide recognises grasslands, savannas, scrublands, deserts and other open ecosystems as distinct ecosystems, rather than treating areas without trees as degraded land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It brings together their geography, biodiversity, ecological functions and socio-economic importance, including pastoralism, fire ecology and carbon sequestration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s open natural ecosystems include Himalayan and Terai grasslands, the Thar and Banni landscapes, Deccan savannas, rocky plateaus, ravines, scrublands, coastal ecosystems and deserts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s Approach to Rangeland Restoration<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>India advocated community-led restoration that combines scientific knowledge with traditional practices and pastoral livelihoods.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India emphasised that <\/span><b>pastoralists should be treated as custodians rather than merely beneficiaries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of rangeland restoration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India highlighted the <\/span><b>Orans of Rajasthan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, community-protected sacred groves that conserve biodiversity, support pastoral livelihoods and protect important habitats, including those of the Great Indian Bustard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India <\/span><b>stressed the importance of recognising grazing rights and community forest resource rights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to strengthen community stewardship of rangelands.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s approach combines landscape management, watershed development, sustainable grazing, fodder development and livelihood support.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India also <\/span><b>highlighted the role of deep-rooted grasses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in storing carbon in soil, improving water infiltration and supporting groundwater recharge.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s Approach to Drought Resilience<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>India called for a shift from reactive drought relief to proactive, technology-enabled drought resilience.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India highlighted the use of<\/span><b> rainfall monitoring and satellite-based drought assessment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to support early preparedness and coordinated action.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It emphasised<\/span><b> watershed-based measures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including restoration of springs and recharge zones in hill areas and ridge-to-valley watershed development in the plains.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India also highlighted <\/span><b>crop insurance and technology-based assessment <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of crop losses as tools for reducing the economic impact of drought.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The approach brings together early warning, preparedness, mitigation, relief and community resilience rather than treating drought only as a post-disaster relief issue.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s Focus on International Finance<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>India called for greater access to predictable and accessible finance, technology and knowledge for land restoration and drought resilience in developing countries.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India stressed the need for dedicated financing for rangeland restoration and offered to share its experience through South-South cooperation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Progress on Land Restoration<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India also highlighted its progress under the Bonn Challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India restored approximately 21.76 million hectares of degraded and deforested land between 2011 and 2020<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, according to the country\u2019s second progress report on the Bonn Challenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Restoration included planted forests, natural regeneration, silviculture, agroforestry and mangrove restoration.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India had initially pledged to restore 13 million hectares, with an additional 8 million hectares, and later increased its commitment to 26 million hectares by 2030.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Land restoration is linked with India\u2019s broader objectives of sustainable land management, biodiversity conservation, climate action and rural development.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Is the Bonn Challenge?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Bonn Challenge <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a global initiative <\/span><b>launched in 2011<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the <\/span><b>Government of Germany and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to promote the restoration of degraded and deforested landscapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It initially set a global target of restoring 150 million hectares by 2020.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The target was subsequently expanded to 350 million hectares by 2030.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forest Landscape Restoration is its principal approach, seeking to restore ecological functionality while meeting human needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bonn Challenge contributes to wider international commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Convention on Biological Diversity and Paris Agreement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UNCCD COP17 highlights key outcomes on land restoration, drought resilience and rangelands, along with India\u2019s initiatives and progress in restoring degraded land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":121944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[9892],"class_list":["post-121827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","tag-unccd-cop17","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121827"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121947,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121827\/revisions\/121947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}