As negotiations continue at the 17th session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the challenge of financing land restoration remains central to efforts to tackle desertification, drought and land degradation.
In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES on the sidelines of COP17 in Mongolia, Louise Baker, the Director of the UNCCD Global Mechanism, says African governments need to move beyond project-by-project funding and develop large, bankable landscape programmes capable of attracting public and private investment.
At COP17, about $1.3 billion in new and pipeline finance has been announced for rangelands, underscoring growing interest in restoration as an investment opportunity rather than solely a development or humanitarian intervention. In this interview, the UNCCD official explains the financing mechanisms that could unlock investment at scale, how Nigeria can make rangeland restoration attractive to investors, the support available to countries with plans but no investment-ready projects, and how carbon finance can be structured to ensure farmers and pastoralists benefit.
Excerpt:
PT: What specific financing mechanisms can unlock investment at scale for land restoration in Africa?
