Budget deficit hits 3-year high www.ubpost.mn

The state consolidated budget ran a deficit of 2.2 trillion MNT in the first seven months of 2026, the widest gap in three years, according to preliminary execution figures released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) last week.

Total revenue and support reached 19.8 trillion MNT in the January to July period, up by 3.3 trillion MNT, or 19.6 percent, from the same period of 2025. Balanced revenue and support, which excludes one-off items, reached 17.3 trillion MNT, up by 11 percent. Total expenditure and net loan repayments came to 19.5 trillion MNT, leaving the budget in deficit. The seven-month period ran a 1.5 trillion MNT surplus in 2024 and a 1.2 trillion MNT deficit in 2025, meaning this year’s shortfall is nearly double last year’s.

Total tax revenue reached 16 trillion MNT in the first seven months, up by 1.5 trillion MNT, or 10.7 percent, from a year earlier. The increase was driven mainly by social insurance revenue, which rose by 479 billion MNT or 15.8 percent, value-added tax revenue, which increased by 12.1 percent, and income tax revenue, which surged by 9.8 percent. Excise tax revenue fell by 102.8 billion MNT or 16.2 percent.

Income tax made up 31.2 percent of total tax revenue in the seven-month period, followed by value-added tax at 23.3 percent, social insurance revenue at 22 percent, foreign operations revenue at seven percent, excise tax at 3.3 percent, and other taxes, fees and charges at 13.2 percent. Within income tax revenue, corporate income tax accounted for 63.8 percent and personal income tax, including refunds, accounted for 36.2 percent.

Consolidated state budget expenditure and net loan repayments totaled 19.5 trillion MNT in the first seven months, up by 2.6 trillion MNT or 15.5 percent, from the same period last year. The rise was driven mainly by goods and services expenditure, which increased by 18.3 percent, capital expenditure, which hiked by 31.8 percent and current transfers, which rose by eight percent.

Current transfers accounted for 38.5 percent of total expenditure, goods and services expenditure for 35.2 percent, capital expenditure for 18.4 percent, interest expenditure for 4.9 percent, and subsidies for 3.1 percent.

Capital expenditure alone reached 3.6 trillion MNT, up by 31.8 percent, from a year earlier. The increase came from construction costs, which surged by 33 percent, equipment costs, up by 36.5 percent, major repairs, up by 32.4 percent, and other capital costs, up by 20.2 percent.

City needs a construction height limit law www.ubpost.mn

There comes a point when talk stops being enough. We have reached that point with Ulaanbaatar. What this city needs, at its core, is a law that limits building heights, one that draws a firm line against the unchecked rise of glass towers and finally gives the city’s skyline some sense of order and restraint. If we want a law that protects this city, then let’s make it happen, even if that means putting real pressure on the members of Parliament who would rather look the other way, tend to their own constituencies, and leave the hard questions for someone else. Like it or not, they hold the exclusive right to draft and pass legislation. That right comes with a duty, and it is time they were reminded of it.

Failing that, we can take our case straight to the capital’s authorities and demand concrete action, not vague promises. There is precedent for this. The Ulaanbaatar City Council and the government have worked hand in hand before, and done it. The law aimed at easing traffic congestion and redeveloping ger areas, passed during Kh.Nyambaatar’s tenure, proved that when the will exists, cooperation between the two is not just possible, it is straightforward. There is no reason the same partnership cannot be forged again, this time in defense of the city’s heritage. 

Because make no mistake, the alternative is bleak. Without decisive action, Ulaanbaatar stands to lose everything that makes it worth calling home. We are talking about a city stripped of its public streets and squares, a city where even a footpath becomes a luxury. The handful of historic buildings that have survived this long, battered as they already are by developers with no regard for what came before them, will end up swallowed whole, cast into permanent shadow by yet another wall of glass and steel.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped talking about the things that actually give a city its character: its historical silhouette, its architectural landmarks, the way buildings and public spaces are meant to work together as a single, coherent whole rather than a scattershot of individual projects. That conversation has quietly fallen off the public agenda, and the silence has not gone unnoticed by the people looking to profit from it.

The so-called “monument case” that surfaced just days ago laid the problem bare. It showed, in the clearest terms possible, that land developers are willing to seize property that isn’t theirs to take if it clears the way for another high-rise in the heart of the city. This is not a hypothetical risk anymore. It is happening in plain sight. So let’s protect this city, and let’s protect what belongs to the public, before there is nothing left worth protecting. Empty gestures, the kind where everyone nods along and adds their voice to a chorus that goes nowhere, will not save a single building or a single square metre of public space. We have chosen a different route. We have done our part as citizens and submitted a formal proposal for a law in this area through the D-Parliament electronic system, the official channel for public petitions and grievances.

None of this would be new ground for Ulaanbaatar to break. Countries around the world have long turned to height restricting laws as a way to safeguard historical and cultural monuments, preserve public property and open space, protect the safety of their citizens, and stop their cities from losing the beauty and identity that set them apart. The most striking recent example comes from China, a country that holds more world records for skyscrapers than any other. Beginning in 2021, Mongolia’s southern neighbor moved to rein in decades of unchecked vertical growth. The law, jointly approved by the Ministry of Housing, Urban-Rural Development and the National Development and Reform Commission, bars the construction of any building taller than 500 meters anywhere in the country. It goes further still. Cities with populations under three million are capped at 150 meters, while those above three million face a strict ceiling of 250 meters.

Paris tells a similar story. Buildings there cannot rise above 37 meters, roughly the height of an 11 or 12 storey apartment block. That limit followed years of public backlash against the 210-meter Tour Montparnasse, erected in 1973 and now remembered less as a landmark than as a cautionary tale. Athens has drawn its own line at 27 meters, about nine storeys, to keep new construction from creeping into view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. On the Indonesian island of Bali, a regional law puts the limit even lower, decreeing that no building may stand taller than a coconut tree, roughly 15 meters. Even the USA, hardly a country known for holding back its skyline, first passed height restricting legislation back in 1899 and has revised it repeatedly since, producing a patchwork of zoning rules that still shapes American cities today. In Washington, buildings along commercial streets are capped at 130 feet, or about 39.6 meters, while residential streets are held to 90 feet, around 27.4 meters. Pennsylvania Avenue, the ceremonial artery linking the Capitol to the White House, allows a maximum of 160 feet, or roughly 48.7 meters. The lesson is not that tall buildings are inherently the enemy. It is that cities which value their own history have chosen, deliberately and by law, to draw a line somewhere. Ulaanbaatar has not yet done the same, and it shows.

To be specific, our country currently has three main norms bearing on the question of how tall a building may rise. The first, known as Residential Building Design and Budget Planning, caps all types of housing at 51 meters, roughly 17 storeys. The second, the General Rules for Public Buildings and Structures, governs trade, service and public buildings and sets its own ceiling at 55 meters. The third is the High-rise Building Planning norm, which by its own definition applies to the pre-project studies, technical conditions, design and feasibility assessments of high-rise buildings running from 17 storeys (51 meters) up to 35 storeys (150 meters), whether built as standalone structures or as part of a larger complex, anywhere within Mongolia’s territory. These three norms set a working range of 51 to 150 meters depending on what a building is for and what kind of building it is. 

But height alone was never meant to be the whole story. A second layer of restriction is supposed to apply on top of the first, one tied to where in the capital a building sits, how it relates to the structures already around it, and whether it fits the city’s broader master plan and vision. Mongolia’s rules may allow 17 storey apartment blocks in principle, but that hardly means one belongs next door to the State Palace. And even where multi-purpose complexes are permitted up to 150 meters, that permission was never meant to license a skyscraper rising out of a neighbourhood of low-rise apartments that have stood shoulder to shoulder, in the same old style, for generations. The norms governing height, in short, are supposed to answer to something larger: the general plan that sets out how the city is organized, zoned and meant to grow. Regrettably, in Mongolia, what gets written into urban planning documents has an unfortunate habit of staying there, confined to paper and never quite making it into the world outside. 

Regulating building heights through dedicated laws and zoning rules tailored to a country’s own architecture, geography and historical landmarks is, in other words, standard practice the world over. At bottom, the goal everywhere is the same: keep citizens safe without losing sight of sound urban planning. Mongolia is no exception on paper. We do have norms and regulations meant to govern building heights. The trouble is that in practice, they have been left to gather dust.

In particular, Baga Toiruu offers perhaps the clearest example of just how far that gap between paper and practice can stretch. Back in 2015, the capital approved a feasibility study for the demolition and redevelopment of old buildings in Baga Toiruu, one that set out a clear goal to turn the area into a low density, central part of the city that preserves the historical space and image of Ulaanbaatar. Orders were issued at the time explicitly banning any building taller than six storeys in the area. That was the plan on paper. In practice, every mayor who has held the office since has made the same promise, that no high-rise construction would be allowed in Ikh Toiruu or Baga Toiruu, and that the cultural heritage sites there would be protected, and every one of them has failed to follow through. Then Mayor D.Sumiyabazar spoke about the issue more than most but in the end proved unable to act on it and left office with the problem no closer to being resolved. Under Kh.Nyambaatar, the capital went so far as to run public surveys asking residents directly about building height restrictions in Ikh and Baga Toiruu, only for the results to sit unused, with nothing done to put them into practice.

The consequences of that inaction are now impossible to miss. What is today called the central part of Ulaanbaatar, Ikh and Baga Toiruu, has effectively slipped out of anyone’s control, with multi storey buildings for trade, services, and public use going up seemingly everywhere at once. The historical image and collective memory of the capital are being crowded out, quite literally, by towers rising over them, while what few older structures remain standing get pushed further into obscurity, closer with each passing year to vanishing altogether. Now, under the banner of redevelopment and renovation, even that remaining handful is being torn down without pause.

However, the same pattern threatens to repeat itself. Sooner or later, a new governor will step forward and declare, in familiar terms, that no high-rise buildings for housing, trade, or services will be permitted in the densely populated central part of the city, that no further land will be allocated in the small roundabout or other already crowded areas, and that special permits issued to violators will be revoked. Officials will point, as they have before, to ongoing work revising urban planning documents tied to projects like the New Great Roundabout highway. But the residents of this capital have heard these lines before, and what they need now is not another round of promises. They need realistic, binding decisions, not assurances that expire the moment a new administration takes office. What if, instead of another promise, it were a law? If building height limits keep failing to hold under regulations and planning documents alone, then perhaps the honest answer is to stop asking nicely and start enforcing them by law.

We are under no illusion about our own limits here. We do not have the authority to draft legislation ourselves, still less to bring it to a vote. That power sits with Parliament, and Parliament alone. But the absence of that authority does not leave us empty handed. We still have a voice and voices, when enough of them speak at once and refuse to quiet down, have a way of becoming impossible to ignore. It is time our elected representatives heard this one clearly, and it is time they understood that silence, this time, is not an option. Ulaanbaatar has already lost more than it can afford to lose. What remains of its skyline, its old neighbourhoods, and its historic core deserves better than another decade of norms left to gather dust while glass towers rise, unchecked, over everything that came before them. The choice in front of parliament is not a complicated one. Act now, while there is still a city worth saving, or explain later, to a generation that will not have the chance to see what Ulaanbaatar once was, why nothing was done while there was still time.

Mongolia to raise minimum wage to MNT 1 million from 2027 www.gogo.mn

The Tripartite National Committee for Labor and Social Partnership began its meeting on August 14 and reached a decision on August 17, 2026, to increase Mongolia’s minimum wage.

Under the decision, the minimum wage will rise by 26.3%, from the current MNT 792,000 per month to MNT 1 million per month, effective January 1, 2027. The hourly minimum wage will be set at MNT 5,952.30.

The minimum wage is established by the Tripartite National Committee for Labor and Social Partnership, which consists of equal representatives of the Government, employers, and organizations representing and protecting the rights and legitimate interests of employees.

In determining the minimum wage, the committee considers factors including:

The population’s minimum standard of living

The ratio of labor productivity to average wages

The minimum pension provided by the Social Insurance Fund

Economic growth and the employment rate

Inflation

Over 700 Journalists Accredited to Cover COP17 www.montsame.mn

The Media and Communications Team of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification held a press briefing today.

According to the briefing, over 700 journalists representing 283 domestic and international media organizations have been accredited to cover the summit. Currently, more than 500 media personnel have already collected their press badges.

Live updates and information are being swiftly delivered to 197 countries through the official COP17 website and social media channels. Meanwhile, major Mongolian television networks, radio stations, newspapers, and news portals are providing extensive daily coverage.

International media presence includes journalists and correspondents from major global agencies such as Xinhua, TASS, and Euronews.

Officials anticipate the number of accredited journalists will rise next week. As the conference progresses into higher-level meetings and critical negotiations, a further influx of foreign reporters is expected.

During the briefing, organizers also highlighted and commended the exceptionally high participation of Mongolian journalists covering the event.

Mongolia: World gathers to seek accord on tackling desertification www.asianews.it

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened today in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, with 196 countries and the European Union in attendance. For two weeks, governments, financial institutions, businesses, scientists and civil society will discuss concrete solutions for land restoration, sustainable soil management and strengthening resilience to drought.

The conference is taking place at a particularly sensitive time globally on this issue – with a scorching summer in Europe and fears over the effects in the coming months of the warming of the Pacific Ocean due to the phenomenon known as El Niño. Soil degradation and drought cost the global economy almost $900 billion a year, affect up to 40 per cent of the world’s land area and impact around 3.2 billion people. Since 2000, droughts have increased by almost a third and cause annual losses of at least $300 billion.

Opening the proceedings, Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral emphasised the need to move from declarations to concrete results. Among the priorities identified are greater integration between the environment, climate and biodiversity; increased investment in land restoration; closer collaboration between governments, financial institutions and the private sector; and greater attention to local communities and pastoralists. Science, technology and innovation must also be transformed into practical and fundable solutions.

According to the UNCCD’s Executive Secretary, Yasmine Fouad, soil degradation and drought are no longer distant environmental problems, but directly threaten food production, water availability, economies and the security of communities. For this reason, COP17 should become an implementation-focused conference, capable of rolling out already available solutions on a large scale and transforming international commitments into measurable results.

The case of Mongolia

Mongolia represents a particularly significant case: around 77 per cent of its territory is degraded, and pastoralism provides an income for one in three inhabitants. In 2023 and 2024, a severe summer drought followed by winters characterised by the dzud phenomenon (a particularly intense cold snap following a dry summer – ed.) led to the loss of over seven million head of livestock, highlighting the vulnerability of communities in arid regions.

One of the key themes will be drought resilience. More than 70 countries worldwide have already drawn up national drought plans, compared with just three in 2013. Investment in prevention proves particularly cost-effective: every dollar invested in resilience can generate up to 10 dollars in benefits, whilst some nature-based solutions can yield returns 27 times greater than their cost.

All this, however, requires substantial funding. Around $355 billion would be needed globally each year to combat land degradation and drought, but current investment amounts to just $77 billion, leaving a shortfall of $278 billion. The private sector currently contributes only around 6 per cent of the funding allocated to land restoration and drought resilience. COP17 will therefore seek to mobilise more private and public capital, with the aim of reducing risks for investors.

The rangeland crisis

Significant attention will also be devoted to rangelands, which cover 54 per cent of the world’s land area and provide a livelihood for around two billion people. They produce one-sixth of the world’s food and around 70 per cent of livestock feed, but up to half of the world’s rangelands are currently degraded or at risk. The conference is expected to promote a new policy framework and the Rangelands Flagship Initiative to foster sustainable management and strengthen the livelihoods of pastoralists.

During the second week of the conference, there will be four thematic days dedicated to finance, water, land and people, food systems and soil health. Indigenous peoples, local communities, young people, women, parliamentarians, mayors, businesses and investors will also be involved.

COP17, which will conclude on 28 August, will take decisions designed to guide the work of the UNCCD in the coming years. The main objective is to translate political agreements into investments, partnerships and concrete actions capable of halting and reversing soil degradation, combating desertification and making communities more resilient to drought and climate change.

Mongolia’s fuel supply returns to normal, restrictions on licence plates and purchase limits lifted www.asianews.network

Due to an increase in fuel imports from Russia, importing companies have been instructed to urgently step up the supply of AI-92 gasoline to filling stations in Ulaanbaatar and local areas.

As of August 14, a total of 74 railcars carrying AI-92 gasoline had arrived in Ulaanbaatar over the previous 48 hours. At 2:30 PM, another 19 railcars arrived.

The Transport Police Service is paying particular attention to ensuring the smooth movement of fuel tankers on the roads, while customs authorities are expediting the clearance of imported petroleum products.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said it is working to restore fuel supply and distribution in Ulaanbaatar and local areas to normal levels by the beginning of next week.

The temporary measures introduced to improve fuel availability, including restrictions based on even and odd license plate numbers and a MNT 50,000 limit per refueling, have produced the intended results. These measures will remain in effect through August 15, after which all filling stations will resume fuel sales without restrictions based on license plate numbers or purchase amounts.

Mongolia has requested the import of 71,000 tons of petroleum products from China per month, and relevant negotiations are underway. The Chinese side has indicated that it can supply up to 75,000 tons of petroleum products per month through three border crossings.

Mongolia’s average daily consumption of AI-92 gasoline is approximately 2,000 tons.

Saudi Arabia hands land degradation baton to Mongolia www.arabnews.com

The UN Conference of the Parties sustainability-related agendas tend to be dominated by the big climate summits each November. However, other interconnected major COP events include those related to desertification and biodiversity processes, which are also agenda-setting internationally.

That core fact is being confirmed this month as Mongolia holds COP17 from Aug. 17 to 28 under the theme of “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.” Attendees include not only government, business and civil society leaders but also scientists, indigenous peoples, pastoralists and farmers seeking to bring the issues of desertification, land degradation and drought higher up the global agenda amid soaring temperatures across much of the world, including Europe.

The message is that the scale of the challenge is increasingly clear — and so is the cost of continuing inaction.

The event in Ulaanbaatar is co-hosted with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The tagline of “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope” highlights the importance of land in supporting food security, water supply, livelihoods and stability as part of wider sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration.

The message is that the scale of the challenge is increasingly clear — and so is the cost of continuing inaction.
This is, by definition, a long-term agenda and the big event builds from the Saudi-hosted COP16, the largest such session in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s history, held with the EU and 196 other countries. In Mongolia, Saudi Arabia will highlight the key achievements of its presidency, including the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership and the Riyadh Action Agenda, which expanded to more than 100 initiatives. Overall, Saudi-led events mobilized more than $12 billion to support land restoration and drought resilience.

Important as these initiatives are, the challenge facing the world is huge and growing. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of the world’s landmass is subject to degradation. In many key vulnerable areas, this is exacerbating competition over resources, driving population displacement and heightening political and social instability. Ultimately, these are issues of both human and national security, not least given that, by mid-century, at least 50 percent more food will need to be produced to meet the challenge of growing populations, with millions of people already facing hunger today.

Part of the reason why Mongolia has been chosen to host the event is that it is one of the countries most impacted by desertification. Nearly 80 percent of the country’s land is affected, about double the global average. Moreover, the annual number of days with sand and dust storms has more than tripled since the 1960s.

The case for action to combat this is not only moral but also economic. The global cost of desertification, land degradation and drought is about $900 billion every year, with drought alone costing at least $300 billion annually.

At the same time, it is estimated that each dollar invested in land restoration can generate returns of up to $35. The figure is $10 for every dollar put into drought resilience in terms of improved ecosystem services and livelihoods.

Yet, problematic as this picture is for Mongolia, the country is on the cutting edge of innovation to tackle the problems with tech, ecosystem restoration and community-led resilience. For instance, Mongolia will announce a “Green AI Infrastructure Initiative,” highlighting the importance of digital innovation and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Developments in these and other areas, including satellite monitoring, geospatial mapping and predictive analytics, are already effectively enabling the agendas around land health, drought risks, improved water management and the targeting of restoration investments.

Wider initiatives that the nation will be championing this month include the UN’s International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, highlighting the importance of pastoralist livelihoods and sustainable rangeland management. Today, rangelands account for more than half of the Earth’s land surface, supporting about 2 billion people, but up to half of them are degraded or at risk. The importance of this agenda is highlighted by the fact that restoring degraded lands the size of Mongolia could increase food security for 200 million people.

There is a growing need to translate commitments into actionable solutions that deliver for vulnerable communities.

Mongolia is also this month leading a major program to boost climate-resilient solutions. This will see groundwater put at the center of integrated initiatives, particularly in drylands. The importance of this is highlighted by the fact that, with droughts having increased by nearly a third since the turn of the millennium, it is forecast that freshwater demand might exceed supply by up to 40 percent by 2030.

Other COP17 initiatives include the Billion Trees National Campaign, which seeks to plant 1 billion trees by 2030 to restore degraded land; the Youth4Land Forum, which is engaging youth in sustainable development; and the Steppe Action Agenda, which seeks to scale land restoration and drought resilience globally.

Taken together, COP17 represents a major moment for advancing the agendas on land restoration to address desertification and global sustainable development. There is a growing need to translate international commitments into actionable solutions that deliver for the vulnerable communities that need them most.

By 
Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

China shares desertification-control expertise at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia www.globaltimes.cn

A Chinese delegation proposed establishing an International Grassland Day at the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which opened in Ulan Bator of Mongolia on Monday. China also pledged to share its expertise and experience in combating desertification with other countries during the event.

China shared its experience in science-based desertification control, grassland restoration, technological innovation and livelihood development at the event, while highlighting regional achievements under China-Arab States, China-Mongolia and China-Central Asia cooperation mechanisms on desertification control, the Global Times learned from China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA).

China has contributed about 25 percent of the world's newly added green areas and taken the lead in achieving zero growth in land degradation. 

Held under the theme "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope," COP17 brings together representatives from 197 parties, as well as UN agencies, international organizations, research institutions and businesses, to discuss issues including the restoration of degraded land, sustainable land management, drought resilience and grassland conservation.

The conference will also feature plenary sessions, implementation review meetings and high-level ministerial dialogues, with a focus on innovative financing, drought resilience, grassland restoration and pastoralists' well-being. Interactive forums on water resources, food systems and other topics will also be held.

Hosting COP17 in Ulan Bator is expected to place an international spotlight on Mongolia's land restoration priorities, including approaches that safeguard livelihoods, strengthen food security and protect ecosystems in dryland regions.

The conference is also taking place during the United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 (IYRP 2026), declared by the UN General Assembly and championed by Mongolia. The year provides an important opportunity to advance the sustainable management, restoration and conservation of rangelands and to highlight the needs of pastoralist communities whose livelihoods depend directly on these ecosystems, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Desertified land accounts for about one-quarter of China's total land area. After more than half a century of sustained efforts, China has achieved a historic shift from "advancing sands and retreating people" to "expanding greenery and retreating deserts," with both desertified and sandy land areas continuing to decline, according to the NFGA.

China has become the first country in the world to achieve zero growth in land degradation, with 53 percent of its treatable sandy land effectively restored.

Over the past five years, China has completed 36.6 million hectares of land greening, raising its forest coverage rate to more than 25 percent and contributing about 25 percent of the world's newly added green areas, statistics from the NFGA show. 

Moreover, China attaches great importance to international cooperation on desertification control. It has established the China-Mongolia Desertification Prevention and Control Cooperation Center, the China-Arab International Research Center for Drought, Desertification, and Land Degradation, and the China-Central Asia Desertification Prevention and Control Cooperation Center, providing Chinese solutions and expertise to the global fight against desertification, according to China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

For example, hundreds of wells drilled by Chinese teams have turned sandy areas into farmland in Egypt, supporting desert reclamation. China has supplied drought-resistant saplings to Mongolia's "Billion Trees" campaign. Africa's own "Great Green Wall" initiative, inspired by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, has also gained support from China, Xinhua reported last year.

UNCCD COP17 opens in Mongolia's capital www.xinhuanet.com

The 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) officially opened in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia, on Monday.

Held under the theme "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope", COP17 brings together 12,000 representatives from the UNCCD's 197 Parties at a pivotal global forum aimed at accelerating action to combat desertification, land degradation and drought.

In his opening remarks, Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral said the world was entering a new era of collective decision-making on how to protect and restore the planet's land resources and what kind of world to leave for future generations.

"It is now widely recognized that desertification, land degradation and drought are challenges that transcend national borders and require a collective response from humanity," Uchral said.

"We need greater efforts now to turn commitments to combat desertification and land degradation into concrete action, supported by adequate financing, technology and institutional frameworks. Therefore, COP17 should not be a conference that simply repeats decisions and declarations from previous meetings, but one that accelerates their implementation," he noted.

The high-level segment of COP17 will feature ministerial dialogues, while the broader program includes multistakeholder forums and thematic discussions on science-policy integration, innovation and solutions, tools and technologies, and financing. The program also features four thematic days focusing on finance, water, land and people, and food systems and soil health.

Beyond formal negotiations, COP17 is expected to mobilize collective action on rangelands and pastoralists, drought resilience, water security, food systems and soil health. The conference will also seek to strengthen partnerships and promote practical, scalable solutions for restoring degraded land and building resilient communities and economies.

According to the UNCCD, land degradation is affecting a significant share of the world's land, with far-reaching consequences for food production, water availability, livelihoods and economic stability.

Mongolia, with a vast territory spanning 1.56 million square kilometers, is among the countries most affected by desertification and land degradation. At least 81.9 percent of Mongolia's total territory has been affected by desertification and land degradation to some extent, according to a recent national assessment released by the country's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

Hosting COP17 in Ulan Bator is expected to place an international spotlight on Mongolia's land restoration priorities, including approaches that safeguard livelihoods, strengthen food security and protect ecosystems in dryland regions.

The conference is also taking place during the United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 (IYRP 2026), declared by the UN General Assembly and championed by Mongolia. The year provides an important opportunity to advance the sustainable management, restoration and conservation of rangelands and to highlight the needs of pastoralist communities whose livelihoods depend directly on these ecosystems.

"Mongolia is one of the world's last remaining nomadic countries. Nomadic pastoralism represents a way of living in harmony with nature rather than against it," Uchral said.

He stressed the importance of promoting the sustainable use of rangelands and land to strengthen food systems and pastoralists' livelihoods, protect biodiversity and soil and water resources, and build resilience to climate change.

Uchral noted that the UN General Assembly's declaration of 2026 as the IYRP, at Mongolia's initiative, had created a historic opportunity to elevate rangelands and nomadic pastoralism on the global policy agenda.

He said linking the IYRP with COP17 would help Mongolia demonstrate that rangelands should not be viewed merely as degraded land, but as vital ecosystems that create economic value, require investment, and connect food systems, nature and the livelihoods of pastoralist communities.

COP17 will continue in Ulan Bator through Aug. 28, with governments and stakeholders expected to work toward concrete decisions and partnerships to accelerate land restoration and strengthen resilience to drought and other environmental challenges

Billionaire Bill Gates arrives in Mongolia to visit Bayan-Ulgii, Dundgovi, and Dornod provinces www.gogo.mn

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates arrived in Mongolia last Sunday, August 9, landing at Buyant-Ukhaa Airport aboard his private aircraft, according to official sources.

Bill Gates arrived with a small group and is currently traveling in Bayan-Ulgii province. He is expected to leave Bayan-Ulgii soon and continue his trip to Dundgovi and Dornod provinces.

The exact purpose of his visit to Mongolia and the date of his departure have not yet been disclosed.