Highlights and images for 20 August 2026

In the world’s rangelands and pasturelands, rain is greeted with welcome relief. After the rain, pastoralist communities experience a dramatic shift from day-to-day survival amid scarcity to renewal, as parched rangelands turn green, water sources refill, and herds can graze in fresh pastures. But climate change is transforming the life-saving rains, which have become patchy and more intense and, therefore, less effective due to runoff.

Delegates enjoyed a traditional Mongolian cultural performance during a break.

As the sun returned to the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Thursday, one of the topics on the agenda was the work programme on rangelands and pastoralists. Parties discussed how to prioritize policies and investments for the sustainable management of rangelands. Delegates also recognized their essential role in addressing key challenges related to food insecurity, desertification, land degradation and drought, biodiversity loss, and climate change.

The Open Dialogue session began with a dance performance.

Rangelands also featured extensively in the morning open dialogue session with civil society, where panelists shared perspectives on what is needed to ensure that pastoralists get the support they need to continue their sustainable land management practices, as well as bring their perspectives into the work of the Convention.

Challenges expressed ranged from barriers to accessing funds to pressures from mining. The solutions proposed included bridging funding and market mechanisms with pastoralists’ diverse local economies, and integrating land degradation neutrality targets with pastoralist-designed and community-led initiatives. During the session, Anders Oskal, Association of World Reindeer Herders, also presented the Global Pastoralist and Indigenous Pastoralists’ Call for Action.

COW Chair Khalid Cherki consults with members of the UNCCD Secretariat.

In the afternoon, the Committee of the Whole (COW) began discussions on the implementation of the Convention’s Strategic Framework, sand and dust storms, and rangelands and pastoralists. Delegates largely welcomed the development of a Global Implementation Initiative for Sand and Dust Storms and a Sand and Dust Storms Toolbox. Participants also welcomed the Rangelands Flagship Initiative and its three components of knowledge, investment, and institutions.

Contact groups met throughout the day to discuss, among others, the budget, migration, private sector engagement, drought, capacity-building, knowledge sharing, and the future work programme of the Science-Policy Interface (SPI).