The walkout showed what is at stake
Drought and soil degradation are no longer just environmental issues. They threaten food production, livelihoods and economies, and increasingly raise questions of global stability and security.
Yet after two weeks of talks and negotiations in Mongolia, COP17 failed to deliver the breakthrough that the scale of the crisis demands. Despite important advances, progress on key issues was blocked and postponed to COP18 in 2028, particularly by opposition from the United States and Russia.
The numbers are grim
Up to 40 percent of the world’s land is already degraded, affecting 3.2 billion people. More than 100 million hectares of productive land are lost every year. The economic costs of land degradation, desertification and drought are estimated at $878 billion annually.
Soils are our lifeline. Around 95 percent of our food is grown in soil, and soils are the world’s largest terrestrial carbon reservoir.
The future of humanity quite literally lies beneath our feet.
The good news is that there is no shortage of solutions
Governments can redirect agricultural subsidies toward more sustainable farming and land restoration. Investment can be increased in agroecology and regenerative agriculture. Farmers can be rewarded for improving soil health, science-based monitoring can be strengthened, and policies can protect land rather than incentivize its degradation.
What is missing, however, is the financing, scale, institutions, market incentives and the political will to put them into action.
This year is a “triple COP” year: governments are meeting under the three major UN conventions on climate change, biodiversity and land degradation. And here in Ulaanbaatar, one thing has become particularly clear to me: these crises cannot be solved separately.
Healthy soils store carbon, retain water, support biodiversity and allow us to grow food. Restoring them can tackle several issues at once: making agriculture more resilient to drought and climate change, protecting biodiversity, strengthening food security and supporting the livelihoods of millions of farmers and pastoralists.
COP17 did deliver some progress, including $1.3 billion for land restoration, particularly for rangelands. Rangelands and pastoralists also moved higher up the international agenda, new UN World Restoration Flagships were announced, and new initiatives for drought resilience were launched.
But put that $1.3 billion against the estimated $278 billion annual financing gap for land restoration and drought resilience, and it becomes clear: it is a drop in the ocean.
At the same time, investment in land restoration can deliver enormous returns. For every dollar invested, an estimated $7 to $30 in economic benefits can be generated.
So what could a future look like in which soil health is actually prioritized?
Imagine landscapes where farming becomes a carbon sink and not a carbon source, healthier soils retain water when rains fail; where farmers produce food without exhausting the land their families will depend on tomorrow. Where restored and diverse ecosystems support biodiversity while creating jobs and strengthening rural economies, and pastoralists are recognized and supported as stewards of some of the world’s most important landscapes. Imagine countries facing drought could prepare before a crisis becomes a catastrophe.
That means making soil health a political priority far beyond the UNCCD. It means connecting action on land much more closely with climate and biodiversity policy, redirecting finance toward approaches that restore rather than deplete natural resources, and ensuring that countries already experiencing the worst impacts of drought and land degradation receive the support they need.
After a week in Ulaanbaatar, I still leave with hope.
The energy is there. The science is there. The momentum is there. Everyone knows that business as usual is no longer an option.
If healthy soil is treated as what it really is – potentially the most valuable asset we have, the foundation of our food, our economies and our resilience – there is still a chance to reverse soil degradation. Yet, what is needed now is to put our soils as the highest priority on the policy agenda.
Protecting and restoring soil cannot wait for another COP. Every year of delay means more productive land lost, more livelihoods threatened and greater pressure on global food security.
