From degraded land to resilient futures

Desertification is reshaping livelihoods and economies around the world. Up to 40 percent of the planet’s land is affected, threatening more than one billion people. In Mongolia, the challenge is particularly stark, with nearly 77 percent of the country’s land already degraded.

Against this backdrop, the OPEC Fund is participating in the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), taking place in Ulaanbaatar from August 17–28 under the theme “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.” The conference brings together governments, development institutions, scientists, businesses and civil society to accelerate action on desertification, land degradation and drought.

For the OPEC Fund, the discussions build on commitments made at COP16 in Riyadh in 2024, where the institution pledged up to US$1 billion to support initiatives addressing land degradation, drought resilience and sustainable land management in partner countries.

“Healthy land systems are fundamental to food security, economic opportunity and climate resilience,” said OPEC Fund Sustainability and Climate Change Director Gerardo Parco, who is representing the institution in Mongolia alongside Senior Country Manager Toshifumi Kazaoka. “Our member and partner countries are united in the commitment to halt and reverse the loss of fertile soil and habitable land.”

Mr. Parco also spoke at the Nature Solutions Finance Hub: Scaling Investments for Nature-Positive Landscapes and Introducing the FIELD Initiative event on August 26. The Asian Development Bank-led Nature Solutions Finance Hub brings together financing and technical partners, including the OPEC Fund, to scale nature finance across Asia and the Pacific. The COP17 session focused on the challenge of building pipelines of nature-positive investments and introduced the Financing Investments and Eradicating Land Degradation and Desertification (FIELD) Initiative.

Beyond the conference programme, the OPEC Fund delegation held bilateral meetings with Mongolian counterparts on proposed road projects linking Ulaanbaatar, Lun and Kharkhorum, and with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for Environment Dr. Osama Faqeeha on the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership. The delegation also engaged with fellow development institutions including ADB and EBRD.

COP17 is also the first of three major environmental conferences taking place in 2026. It will be followed by the Convention on Biological Diversity COP17 in Armenia in October and the UN Climate Change Conference COP31 in Türkiye in November. For the OPEC Fund, the three meetings provide an opportunity to connect the agendas of land, nature and climate – and help translate international commitments into investment and practical development solutions.