UNCCD COP17 Ulaanbaatar: rangelands and drought finance
Why in the news
The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD closed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, stressing rangelands, drought finance and community-led restoration while a binding drought treaty remained stuck.
Key facts
- Theme: “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope”, alongside the 2026 year for rangelands and pastoralists.
- 40% of global land is degraded (Mongolia 77%; India about 30% per the SAC-ISRO Atlas).
- DRI is the Drought Resilience Index; DRIF is the Drought Resilience Investment Facility, launched jointly with Luxembourg.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Adopted | Paris, 17 June 1994 (after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit) |
| Status | Only legally binding land-management pact; one of three Rio Conventions with UNFCCC and CBD; 197 Parties |
| LDN | Matches SDG target 15.3 |
| Finance arm | Global Mechanism |
| India | Hosted COP14, New Delhi, 2019 |
Exam angle
- Venue and theme of COP17.
- LDN equals SDG 15.3.