UNCCD COP17 Allocates $12 Billion for Global Drought Resilience

Delegates from 196 countries and the European Union convened in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from August 17 to 28, 2026, for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The summit focuses on operationalizing the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, a fund established in 2024 under Saudi Arabian leadership.

Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, is leading efforts to allocate over $12 billion in public sector pledges to 74 vulnerable countries. These funds will support irrigation overhauls and the planting of drought-resistant crops to counter food security risks driven by record heat and a super El Niño system. Fouad emphasized that the summit must move beyond commitments to the scale-up and implementation of existing solutions.

While the $12 billion pledge marks a significant increase, the UNCCD estimates that $2.6 trillion is needed by the end of the decade to halt desertification. Participants are working to close a $278 billion annual land-finance gap and establish a global policy framework for drought resilience. Nigeria and other African nations are specifically advocating for a legally binding instrument on drought management.

Mongolian leadership, including Prime Minister N. Uchral and Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg, urged delegates to treat land, climate, and biodiversity as interconnected challenges. The conference also aims to integrate rangeland management into global policy during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.