Nations have announced a $1.3bn financing portfolio for land restoration and drought resilience as the 17th session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD COP17, ended in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Friday.
The financing, covering 23 countries across five continents, includes $644.5m identified as new funding, with $216.4m already confirmed and moving towards implementation.
The conference, which brought together representatives of the UNCCD’s 197 parties, focused on accelerating action against land degradation, desertification and drought, with African countries identified among those requiring stronger financial and technical support.
The UNCCD Executive Secretary, Yasmine Fouad, said the conference had produced the political decisions, scientific evidence, financing mechanisms and partnerships needed to move from commitments to implementation.
“We came to Ulaanbaatar saying that COP17 must be a COP of implementation. We leave with more of the architecture needed to make that possible,” Fouad said.
