The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) announced that Egypt is set to host the 18th session of its Conference of the Parties (COP18) in 2028, following the conclusion of COP17, held over two weeks in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.

The convention said COP18 would provide the next major opportunity for countries to build on the progress achieved in land restoration and drought resilience and advance the outcomes of the Ulaanbaatar conference.

As it prepares to host the next session, Egypt stressed the importance of strengthening international cooperation and adopting an integrated approach to land degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

Such an approach would help enhance food and water security and strengthen resilience to mounting environmental and climate challenges.

Egypt will host COP18 at a time when international efforts to restore degraded land require faster implementation. Up to 40 percent of the world’s land is already degraded, while countries have pledged to restore more than one billion hectares by 2030.

COP17 concluded after two weeks of negotiations on combating land degradation, desertification, and drought. Discussions focused on moving from commitments to implementation by expanding financing, investment, viable projects, and international partnerships.

“COP17 must be a conference of implementation. We leave with more of the architecture needed to make that possible through innovative financing mechanisms, portfolios of investable projects, and partnerships capable of scaling up solutions,” UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad said.

She raised a series of questions that would determine the conference’s success: “Are countries better prepared for drought? Are degraded land and rangelands being restored? Is financing reaching viable projects? And are the people who manage the land seeing a real difference in their lives?”

COP17 also saw the launch of several international initiatives, including the Rangelands Flagship Initiative, which has mobilized $1.2 billion across 45 projects.

The conference also launched the Drought Resilience Investment Facility, which aims to mobilize up to $400 million in public and private capital for projects involving water security, sustainable agriculture, nature-based solutions, and land restoration.

Participants announced a $1.3 billion financing portfolio to support land restoration and drought resilience in 23 countries across five continents.

The portfolio includes $644.5 million in new financing, of which $216.4 million has already been confirmed and is moving towards implementation.

Countries will continue working to implement the COP17 outcomes ahead of COP18 in Egypt in 2028. The next conference is expected to provide an important opportunity to assess global progress in restoring degraded land and strengthening drought resilience

Published Date:2026-08-30