WCC at the UNCCD COP17 2026

WCC at the UNCCD COP17 2026

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Thu, 08/13/2026 - 10:14

Governments from 197 countries will meet in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17-28 August 2026 for the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17). UNCCD COP17 will run under the theme “ Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.” The World Council of Churches (WCC) will take part throughout, across four public events and a daily quiet space inside the conference.

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Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

Mongolia will host as the first country in east and central Asia to do so. Nearly 77 percent of its land is already degraded, according to the UN in Mongolia. Globally the figure reaches up to 40 percent, the UNCCD reports. Behind those numbers sit water shortages, thinning biodiversity, and families walking away from land that no longer feeds them.

Faith communities arrive with something other than a technical brief. Land is received as a gift held in common, and caring for it is a question of justice as much as of soil science. Churches and faith-based organizations also sit inside farming communities rather…