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WCC leaves COP17 in Ulaanbaatar with the same land question

September 3, 2026 · 1 min read

valter

Thu, 09/03/2026 - 17:21

For 11 days in Ulaanbaatar, the World Council of Churches (WCC) made one argument in five different events: degraded land will not be restored without the communities who already hold it. It closed on 25 August, with churches in front of investors, then farmers.

Image

Group picture with participants of the WCC side event on Agroecology and Farmer-managed natural regeneration.

Photo: Mongolian Presss Agency

The UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the treaty to address land degradation and drought, met in Mongolia from 17 to 28 August for its 17th Conference of the Parties (COP).

On 22 August the WCC held an official side event on faith communities as partners in land restoration. Dinesh Suna, WCC programme executive for Land, Water, and Food, presented the Living Planet Monitor, the WCC's land restoration evidence base, which he edits. The argument for restoration, he said, is only as strong as the data behind it.

The morning of 25 August began in the Business for Land Pavilion. Faith organizations hold roughly 8…

Source: World Council of Churches · Read the full story →

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💬 Comments (4) 🌐 Show original

Людмила Бондаренко

Цікаво, що вони згадують про громади, які вже тримають землю. У нас на Київщині після радянських часів багато хто з фермерів і селян досі бореться за свої клаптики, а земля висихає. Чи допоможе цей Living Planet Monitor реально щось змінити, чи то знову тільки цифри на папері?

Hélène Martin

Yes, this Living Planet Monitor makes me think of our own data on soil quality in France: we have plenty of figures, but on the ground, it is often small farmers who do the real work of regeneration. In Mongolia or here, if the local communities are not really at the center, they are still fine words. Does the WCC plan to concretely monitor the results on site after the COP?

Соломія Кузьменко

It is interesting that you mentioned Kyiv region in particular - here in Poltava region, too, after the collective farms, many lands remain semi-abandoned, without owners. I think that the Living Planet Monitor can help if the data actually goes to local farmers and not just for reports in Geneva. And what do you think, what exactly should be done so that these numbers do not hang in the air?

Thomas Moreau

Yes, the small farmers in our country often do the work without us talking about it much, like those who come to the parish with their vegetables from the garden. The Living Planet Monitor gives good figures, but without concrete follow-up on the ground after the COP, it risks remaining in the files. Has the WCC already planned visits or reports in one or two years?