UNCCD COP17 Launches Land Breakthroughs to Restore 1.5 Billion Hectares by 2030

3 articles · Updated · TIME · Aug 22

Ulaanbaatar's COP17 is rolling out Land & Soil Breakthroughs and a Community Platform to track progress toward conserving and restoring 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.
The push comes as drought-induced losses alone cost the global economy an estimated $307 billion a year, while the broader toll from land degradation, drought and desertification reaches $878 billion.
UNCCD says restoration is an economic investment, not just an environmental one: financing it could generate up to $1.8 trillion annually, create 65 million jobs by 2030 and return $7 to $30 for every $1 invested.
Rangelands are central to the agenda because they cover more than half of Earth's land, account for 70% of Mongolia's territory, provide 16% of global food supply and support up to 500 million pastoralists.
The new initiatives build on the Riyadh Action Agenda launched at COP16 in 2024, which has mobilized more than $2.9 billion so far and set a goal of raising over $130 billion for 2026-2030.