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Battsetseg Batmunkh leads Mongolia's COP17 conference to address global land degradation and drought

Mongolia's Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh pledged her country's full commitment to combating land degradation during the opening of COP17 in Ulaanbaatar. The conference, hosted by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), serves as the only global summit dedicated to addressing the interwoven problems of drought, land aridity, and soil health. Experts and leaders gathered to discuss the systemic risks posed by land degradation, which currently affects 3.5 billion people and costs the global economy approximately $878 billion annually. The administration announced that restoring healthy land is an economic necessity, as every dollar invested in restoration can yield between $7 and $30 in economic benefits. The conference highlights rangelands, which cover half of the Earth's land surface, as a critical reservoir for carbon storage and food security. Negotiators are working to establish binding protocols and measurable milestones to mobilize private and public investment. The goal is to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030, with the administration announced that the host country, Mongolia, expects to receive over $1.5 billion in funding for its own reforestation and sustainable agriculture programs.

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