Following intensive negotiations, participants, including 196 countries and the European Union, decided to postpone the adoption of a global agreement on the drought issue until the next summit, which will take place in Egypt in 2028.
In Mongolia, funding amounting to $1.3 billion, predominantly state-backed, was secured for land restoration and increasing drought resilience in 23 countries. The majority of these investments are earmarked for improving pastures.
The UN forecasts that land degradation already affects 40% of the planet's surface. If measures are not taken to halt this process, an additional 11% of land will be degraded by 2050, equivalent to the territory of South America, leading to serious consequences for climate, biodiversity, and food production.
According to United Nations data, global drought has increased by 30% since 2000 and is projected to affect three-quarters of the world's population by 2050.
As part of the fight against this problem, an investment fund for drought resilience was launched at the summit. This fund aims to attract $400 million (343 million euros) in private capital to support projects.
Mongolia's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Sandag-Ochir Tsend, stated at a press conference following the summit that combating land degradation, desertification, and drought globally requires more funds—around $355 billion (304 billion euros) annually, rather than the $77 billion (66 billion euros) currently mobilized.
The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP17) took place over two weeks in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
