The planet is in crisis.

Our response must rise to the moment.

Across the world, the signs of environmental crises are becoming harder to ignore.

Land is degrading fast. Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate. The climate is growing more extreme and unpredictable.

Our planet is on the brink of irreversible changes that will reshape the systems that sustain life: from the way we grow food and manage water, to how communities build livelihoods and prepare for an uncertain future.

The scale of these challenges demands a response of equal ambition. That is why the three major environmental conferences, or Conferences of the Parties (COPs), taking place in 2026 are pivotal moments. They bring countries together to advance action on three interconnected priorities: restoring land, protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change.

These political negotiations are essential and must be matched by progress on the ground. We must urgently move into the era of action. Here’s a closer look at how these meetings can help us rise to the moment.

Restoring land

COP17

UN Convention to Combat Desertification

17–28 August

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

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Protecting biodiversity

COP17

UN Biodiversity Conference

19–30 October

Yerevan, Armenia

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Tackling climate change

COP31

UN Climate Change Conference

9–20 November

Antalya, Türkiye

Stay tuned

Restoring land

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

17–28 August

Land is where many of today’s environmental challenges meet. Healthy soils store carbon, produce food, sustain biodiversity and support the livelihoods of billions of people.

Yet this foundation is under growing strain. Up to 40 percent of the world's land is degraded, and the consequences are being felt through food insecurity, water scarcity, migration and economic instability.

Addressing land degradation is not only about restoring ecosystems. It is about protecting livelihoods and ensuring that communities facing increasing environmental pressures have the tools and resources they need to steward the land sustainably.

That challenge is at the centre of discussions from 17 to 28 August, when governments, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, youth and the private sector gather in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for COP17 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Conference focuses on the interconnected challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought, and how restoring land can build resilience and reduce vulnerability but also enhance economic stability, national security and development.

Mongolia’s own experience reflects the growing strain on the world’s natural ecosystems: nearly 77 percent of the country's territory has been affected by degradation. But just as striking as the scale of the challenge is the opportunity it presents. Restoring 150 million hectares of degraded land (an area roughly the size of Canada) could generate up to US$40 billion additional annual income for smallholder farmers while helping feed 200 million people.

Unlocking this kind of potential will require investment. As host of COP17, Mongolia is advancing the Steppe Action Agenda, a global initiative to mobilize more than $1 billion to support integrated action across landscapes. But turning restoration ambitions into reality will depend on closing a significant financing gap and ensuring that resources reach the communities and landscapes most in need.

Over the past decade, countries have committed to restoring 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030, and more than 70 countries have developed or are developing national drought plans. COP17 is a key moment to reach even higher and move quickly from planning to action, with finance for land restoration and drought resilience among the issues shaping the agenda.

Beyond drought resilience and land restoration, COP17 shines a spotlight on communities that most depend on healthy land. Herders and livestock farmers are taking centre stage as the Conference coincides with the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. Rangelands sustain more than 500 million people and cover around half of the Earth’s land surface. Roughly half are already degraded or at risk.

As part of its mandate, the Convention addresses the links between land degradation and social challenges, including gender equality, youth engagement and migration. COP17 advances this commitment to a more inclusive approach to land governance, becoming the first UNCCD Conference to include both an Indigenous Peoples Caucus and a Local Communities Caucus.

Looking beyond the current decade, one of the key goals of COP17 is to shape the Convention’s future strategic framework, the roadmap that will define how global efforts to address desertification, land degradation and drought continue after 2030.

In Mongolia, degraded pastures and harsh winters threaten one of the world’s last truly nomadic cultures. With UNDP support and GEF funding, the Mongolian government and the herders are responding with courage, cooperation and creativity.
Here's how

Innovative solutions are not always new ones. In Burkina Faso, members of an agricultural cooperative are using traditional farming techniques to combat drought and desertification. Since 2018, they’ve recovered 260 hectares of degraded land and increased their yields significantly.
Here's how

Recognizing the importance of strong environmental governance, Libya is introducing a policy and operational framework that integrates land, water, biodiversity and livelihood management.
Here's how

From drought tolerant seeds to water boxes that collect rain and condensation to feed tree seedlings, farmers in Uzbekistan are deploying a variety of techniques to thrive in the country’s increasingly arid climate.
Here's how

In Argentina’s high Andes, UNDP and local partners, with funding from the Global Environment Facility, are supporting communities in protecting grasslands, leveraging traditional knowledge and nature-based solutions.
Here's how

Small Island Developing States are showing how even a small amount of land has the potential to transform. In Seychelles, healthy soil is proving to be a powerful ally in the fight against climate change.
Here's how

UNDP at #COP17
Biodiversity

Yerevan, Armenia

19–30 October

Biodiversity is not just something we need to protect. It’s something our lives depend on. It is not something that sits apart from or in competition with business and industry. It’s the foundation on which our economies are built.

Almost all global gross domestic product (GDP) depends to some extent on nature and the services it provides—such as pollination. More than half of the economy depends highly or at least moderately on nature.

That foundation is under growing strain. More than 1 million species are threatened with extinction, while the average size of monitored wildlife populations has fallen by more than 70 percent over the past 50 years. The consequences are not confined to forests, rivers or oceans. They can mean lower agricultural productivity, greater food insecurity, mounting pressure on water resources and growing risks for communities and businesses that depend on healthy ecosystems.

For millions of people, that dependence is very direct. More than 1.6 billion people rely on forests for subsistence, employment or income, while fisheries and aquaculture support more than 600 million livelihoods worldwide.

In 2022, nearly 200 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, setting 23 ambitious targets for 2030. Among them: effectively conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s terrestrial and inland water areas and 30 percent of marine and coastal areas, and reduce or reform subsidies and other incentives harmful to biodiversity by at least US$500 billion a year.

The UN Biodiversity Conference, COP17, taking place in Yerevan, Armenia from 19 to 30 October, offers a crucial opportunity to take stock of what has happened since those commitments were made. For the first time, countries are conducting a global review of progress in implementing the Framework.

The discussions range from biodiversity finance and support for implementation to ecosystem restoration, protected areas, monitoring progress and fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources. The conference also advances the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, encourages countries to integrate biodiversity across sectors and strengthens the links between biodiversity, climate and sustainable development.

At the heart of the negotiations is a practical question: how do international commitments translate into decisions that change what happens on the ground?

Finance is a big part of the answer. The Framework calls for at least $200 billion a year to be mobilized for biodiversity by 2030. Meeting that goal requires a mix of international finance, domestic resources and private capital, as well as national plans that identify where money is needed and how it can be mobilized.

Some countries are already testing what that looks like. In Morocco, a $350 million investment in the blue economy supports the restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems and the sustainable recovery of fisheries. In Thailand, a visitor fee of less than $1 on Koh Tao island generates funding for marine ecosystem protection.

These examples are part of a larger awakening: nature can be part of our strategies for economic growth, jobs and resilience, rather than something to protect only after economic decisions are made.

The potential is significant. An analysis by IPBES estimates that shifting towards an economy that helps restore nature could create $10 trillion in business opportunities and support up to 395 million jobs by 2030.

UNDP helps countries bring this thinking into the economic decisions that shape development. Through the Nature Pledge, UNDP supports the largest biodiversity and nature portfolio in the UN system, helping countries turn the Global Biodiversity Framework into concrete action, including through their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). In 2025, UNDP supported projects in 145 countries, mobilizing $3.9 billion and $14 billion in co-financing. Through BIOFIN, UNDP also helps countries access biodiversity financing, reform harmful incentives and identify new ways to finance their ambitions.

The goal is to bring nature into the decisions that determine how economies function: from public budgets and financial systems to agriculture, tourism, natural resource management and development planning.

That is one of the challenges facing countries at COP17. Turning commitments into action requires countries to measure progress, identify where gaps remain and decide where resources can have the greatest impact.

Investing in biodiversity is not only about protecting the planet. It’s about protecting the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on it, and building economies that are more resilient to the challenges ahead.

In Ukraine, UNDP supported the development and adoption of the country’s first National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, providing a foundation for integrating nature conservation and restoration into post-war recovery.
Here's how

In the Pacific, more than two decades of UNDP-supported work has helped 14 island nations strengthen cooperation and sustainable tuna fisheries management, protecting a vital source of food, livelihoods and economic opportunity.
Here's how

In Colombia, UNDP and local communities are turning human–jaguar conflict into coexistence through conservation, ecotourism and education, helping protect nearly half a million hectares of biological corridors while creating new livelihood opportunities.
Here's how

In Mauritius and Seychelles, UNDP is helping restore degraded coral reefs to strengthen food security, coastal livelihoods and resilience to climate change, while building local capacity for long-term reef conservation.
Here's how

In Costa Rica, UNDP is helping Indigenous communities turn biodiversity into economic opportunity through nature-based tourism. The Raíces programme has supported 35 Indigenous tourism ventures, mobilized US$1.89 million and helped put more than 2,221 hectares of forest under sustainable management.
Here's how

In Botswana, UNDP supported the reform of protected-area fees, generating millions of dollars in additional revenues. The initiative strengthens financing for national parks and captures more of the economic value of Botswana's natural assets for the benefit of local communities.
Here's how

UNDP at #COP17
Climate Change

Antalya, Türkiye

9–20 November

What a changing planet demands

Increasingly, land degradation, nature loss and climate chaos are driving economic instability, inequality and conflict. But addressing them in synergy can deliver jobs, health, safety and security.

This approach is at the heart of UNDP’s work. Together with countries, communities, partners and donors, we turn commitments into action, bringing together knowledge, resources and ideas to address these interconnected challenges.

Through initiatives such as the Climate Promise and the Nature Pledge, we work with more than 140 countries to help them develop and implement their Nationally Determined Contributions on climate action, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and Land Degradation Neutrality targets.

This is sustainable development.

Our mission is to build a world where people and all living beings can thrive within a healthy and resilient environment. Achieving this vision requires solutions with the ambition and scale the challenge demands. Now, together, we must rise to the moment.

The planet is in crisis.

Across the world, the signs of environmental crises are becoming harder to ignore.

What a changing planet demands

Share this story

See more feature
stories from UNDP

The planet is in crisis.

Across the world, the signs of environmental crises are becoming harder to ignore.

What a changing planet demands

Share this story

See more feature stories from UNDP

See more feature
stories from UNDP