The Unsung Hero in Our Climate Fight: What's Happening in Mongolia?
In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, leaders and scientists are tackling a pressing global challenge: the degradation of our planet's rangelands. These vast areas, covering half of Earth's land, are crucial for absorbing carbon and combating drought, yet they are increasingly at risk. The ongoing United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) meeting highlights how restoring these lands offers a significant opportunity to boost food security, control fires, and enhance climate resilience worldwide. This crucial summit underscores the urgent need for collective action to protect the ground beneath our feet.
Policymakers and experts have convened in Mongolia for the biennial meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This gathering, often called the “land COP,” is the only global summit focused on the intertwined issues of drought, land degradation, and desertification. While less publicized than other climate conventions, its outcomes are vital for global food security and fire prevention.
The timing is critical, as drought gripped nearly one-third of the world's land last year. Extreme heat is worsening conditions, leading to significant harvest losses, drying rivers, and fires in unexpected places. In Europe, successive heatwaves have claimed thousands of lives. The importance of healthy soil is becoming undeniably clear, as people connect the dots between land degradation and these escalating crises.
Globally, an estimated 40 percent of the world's lands are degraded, largely due to neglect, drought, and over-grazing. This means they are less capable of holding water and storing carbon. Restoring these lands could bring immense benefits for food production, drought mitigation, and carbon sequestration. Rangelands, which include grasslands and savannas, hold about 30 percent of the world's soil carbon, making them an underappreciated but critical natural solution.
Negotiators at this year's land COP are prioritizing these ecosystems, with 2026 designated as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. Mongolia, where 90 percent of the land is rangeland and many live as pastoralists, serves as a powerful symbol. This focus provides a unique opportunity for global collaboration on climate issues through the lens of land protection, as healthy ecosystems offer a 'win-win' by increasing biodiversity, sustaining wildlife, and stabilizing soil against extreme weather events. Researchers like Jennifer Watts from the Woodwell Climate Research Center emphasize that these lands provide essential services to society and the climate.
Droughts currently cost countries an estimated $300 billion annually, with projections suggesting they will impact three-quarters of the global population by 2050, according to a United Nations report. While efforts to develop a binding global protocol for drought continue, the discussions in Ulaanbaatar highlight the critical role of sustainable land management. Ultimately, protecting and restoring our soil is not just an environmental issue; it's a fundamental step towards securing our planet's future amidst a changing climate.