WCC tells COP17 that land restoration needs faith partners

WCC tells COP17 that land restoration needs faith partners

valter

Wed, 08/26/2026 - 14:31

Mongolia is hosting the UN Convention to Combat Desertification for the first time, with nearly 77 percent of its land already degraded. Its theme is "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope." A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation is in Ulaanbaatar for the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17).

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Photo: COP17

"We have still too much land degradation all over the world, from Africa to, yes, North America, Turtle Island, even in the United States . . . We are finding new science, but also newer and deeper theological perspectives to help us move toward solving these challenges," said Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, WCC president from North America, part of the delegation in Mongolia.

On 22 August, the WCC joined an official COP17 side event, "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope: Faith Communities as Partners in Land Restoration," held with the G20 Global Land Initiative. Dinesh Suna, WCC programme executive for Land, Water, and Food, argued that advocacy on land restoration has to rest on evidence. Governments have…