Dates: 17 – 28 August 2026 
Venue: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 
Organizer: Government of Mongolia and the UNCCD Secretariat 
More information: unccdcop17.org 

It will be held in Ulaanbaatar and will comprise high-level delegates from UNCCD's 197 Parties, alongside heads of state, business leaders, scientists, youth, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, and smallholder farmers, to deliberate under the theme "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope." As the first of three Rio Convention COPs in 2026's "Triple COP year," COP17 opens the year's biodiversity-climate-land calendar. Mongolia, with nearly 77% of its territory degraded, brings direct national stakes to the table, and the conference coincides with the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. 

Objectives 

• Land Restoration: Advance the Riyadh–Ulaanbaatar Action Agenda on finance, policy, and technology for restoring degraded land.
• Drought Resilience: Strengthen proactive drought management and water resilience strategies.
• Rangelands Focus: Spotlight sustainable management of rangelands, which support roughly 500 million livelihoods.
• Investment Mobilization: Engage the private sector through the Business4Land Initiative. 

Expected Outcomes 

• A Heads of State Summit and ministerial declarations on land restoration and drought resilience.
• Thematic-day outputs spanning finance, rangelands, water, and food systems.
• Concrete commitments feeding into Land Degradation Neutrality targets.

More information: unccdcop17.org