Africa Pushes for More Land Restoration Finance at COP17

For African countries facing conflict and fragility, restoring damaged landscapes carries consequences far beyond environmental protection.

The African Development Bank Group is calling for stronger and more reliable financing to restore degraded land across Africa, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected regions where environmental damage can deepen food insecurity, poverty, displacement and competition over natural resources.

The call came as the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) opened in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on 17 August 2026. Held under the theme "Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.", the summit has gathered more than 12,000 representatives from the Convention's 197 Parties to turn global commitments on desertification, land degradation and drought into practical action.

Mongolia provides a striking setting for the talks. Covering around 1.56 million square kilometres, the country is among those most severely affected by desertification, with nearly 77% of its territory already degraded. Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral told delegates that desertification, land degradation and drought cross national borders, making international cooperation essential.

Restoring land can also strengthen peace

For African countries facing conflict and fragility, restoring damaged landscapes carries consequences far beyond environmental protection. Healthy land supports farming, livestock, water supplies, jobs and local incomes, while severe degradation can intensify pressure on communities already struggling with climate shocks and economic insecurity.

Speaking at a COP17 side event on financing land restoration in fragile and conflict-affected settings, Al Hamndou Dorsouma, the African Development Bank's Division Manager for Climate and Green Growth, noted that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly half of the world's fragile and conflict-affected settings. He described land restoration as an opportunity to strengthen resilience, promote stability and address some of the pressures that can contribute to larger conflicts.

The event, organised with the UNCCD, United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Development Programme, explored ways to provide more dependable restoration financing through stronger coordination, risk-sharing and approaches that recognise the connection between environmental recovery and peace. Participants also discussed a proposed Fragility Financing Mechanism, designed to reduce interruptions in funding and create greater continuity for restoration projects.

Financing must move from promises to projects

UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad stressed that COP17 needs to focus on implementation, with measurable results on the ground becoming the test of whether international commitments are delivering meaningful change.

The African Development Bank already has experience financing resilience projects in vulnerable areas through its Transition Support Facility (TSF), which has operated since 2008. The facility brings climate, fragility and resilience considerations into investments while supporting ecosystems shared by communities and countries.

One example is a $9.5 million TSF-funded project focused on restoring the ecological and economic functions of Lake Chad, a region where environmental pressures intersect with poverty, livelihood insecurity and conflict. The Bank is also supporting a large-scale programme in the Horn of Africa designed to strengthen climate resilience, food security and livelihoods.

These investments illustrate why predictable financing matters. Restoring a landscape can take years, while fragile regions often face greater investment risks and weaker institutions, making conventional funding harder to secure precisely where environmental recovery may be most urgently needed.

Great Green Wall gains attention at Ulaanbaatar summit

The Great Green Wall Pavilion, led by the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall and co-hosted by the African Development Bank Group and other partners, has become a meeting point at COP17 for discussions around restoring African landscapes. Prime Minister Uchral made a surprise visit to the pavilion on the opening day, highlighting the international significance of land restoration and the Great Green Wall Initiative.

Across the two-week conference, governments, development institutions, financial organisations, civil society groups and businesses are expected to negotiate decisions and develop partnerships around degraded land, drought resilience and investment in sustainable land management.

For Africa, the stakes stretch from healthier soils and more productive farms to stronger rural economies and communities better equipped to withstand drought and climate shocks. The African Development Bank's message at COP17 places land restoration within that wider picture, where rebuilding damaged ecosystems can support food security, climate adaptation, economic opportunity and greater stability in some of the continent's most vulnerable regions.