Governments, development banks, investment funds and businesses attending the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) have announced $1.3 billion in new and pipeline financing for land restoration and drought resilience across 23 countries on five continents.
This was announced on Monday during the plenary meeting at the COP17 venue in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital. The announcement of the finance mechanism placed rangelands at the centre of a growing global investment push, with Mongolia using its presidency of COP17 to advance financing for the ecosystems that dominate much of its landscape and support millions of pastoralists worldwide.
Of the $1.3 billion announced, $644.5 million has been identified as new finance, while $216.4 million has already been confirmed and is moving towards implementation, the UNCCD noted.
The announcement came against the backdrop of perceived huge financing gaps for meeting global land restoration commitments.
The Convention estimates that $355 billion will be required annually through 2030, compared with the current investment of about $77 billion, resulting in an annual shortfall of $278 billion.
