”The question is not whether we can afford to invest in healthy lands, it’s about whether we can afford not to.” - Yasmine Fouad, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Executive Secretary
Desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD) are not only environmental concerns. They pose severe challenges to our economies by threatening food and water security, eroding natural resources, harming livelihoods, and undermining communities’ resilience and forcing them to leave their homes.
However, a key hindrance for tackling DLDD is the lack of funding to support action: the world is facing an annual finance gap of about USD 278 billion to address DLDD and support land restoration. At the same time, the cost of inaction is estimated at USD 878 billion annually, while benefits from investment can reach USD 1.8 trillion – an eight-to-one return.
Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.
As the second week of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNCCD got underway, the need for reliable and sustainable finance for sustainable land management was at the heart of discussions. In the opening of the High-level Segment, the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, highlighted his country’s Steppe Action Agenda linked to three flagship initiatives on rangelands, the land-water nexus, and nature-based solutions for infrastructure.
Following the opening, the Ministerial Dialogue on financial mechanisms took place throughout the day. Participants heard from international organizations and Member States’ ministries on their financial commitments and initiatives to enhance efforts to tackle DLDD. Many also called for simplified, faster, accessible, predictable, concessional, and transparent funding and investments to assist in the implementation of targets and initiatives.
In the evening, a fashion show was held by the Fashion4Land initiative, which seeks to shine a spotlight on solutions that support sustainable land stewardship while aiming to help create a more resilient, transparent, and circular fashion industry.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For UNCCD COP 17, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Anastasia Rodopoulou.
Opening Ceremony of the High-Level Segment
A view of the room as Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, President of Mongolia, delivers his remarks.
Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, former President of Costa Rica
Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland
Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
Moon Jae-in, former President of the Republic of Korea
Tsend Sandag-Ochir, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Mongolia
Gandelger Togooch, Mongolian pastoralist, and Hindou Oumarou, President, Association of Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
A view of the room as delegates stand for the national anthem of Mongolia.
Ministerial Dialogue on Innovative Financial Mechanisms for Healthy Land and Drought Resilience
Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN
Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
Grethel Aguilar, Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature
Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN
João Paulo Ribeiro Capobianco, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Brazil
Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice-President, European Investment Bank
Ruslan Edelgeriev, Special Envoy for Climate and Water Resources, Russian Federation
Liming Zhang, Vice-Administrator of the National Forestry and Grasslands Administration, China
Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Delegates from Azerbaijan
Delegates from Bangladesh
Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Saudi Arabia
Abou Bamba, Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition, Côte d'Ivoire
Rezq Basheer-Salimia, Minister of Agriculture, State of Palestine
Younten Phuntsho, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Bhutan
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), speaking with delegates from Oman.
A view of the panel during the afternoon session
Saud Alaraimi, Oman
Pamoussa Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso
Delegates from Algeria
Delegates from Kiribati
Taurere Hauata, Association for Fulani Women and Indigenous Peoples of Chad
Andrea Lucrecia Fión Góngora, Guatemala
Marco Negrete Jiménez, Mexico
Contact Groups
Media Briefing on Finance Day
Yazan Neme, UNCCD Secretariat, and Pablo Muñoz, Global Mechanism, UNCCD
Sarah Toumi, Global Mechanism, UNCCD, and Ulrich Apel, Senior Environmental Specialist, Global Environment Facility
Fashion4Land
COP 17 President Batmunkh Battsetseg
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP
Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
Around the Venue
Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, and COP 17 President Batmunkh Battsetseg hold a press conference.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP, and Xenya Scanlon, UNCCD Secretariat
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
