UNCCD COP17
The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) brings together governments, experts, businesses and civil society to accelerate action on land restoration, drought resilience and sustainable land management. Climate KIC will participate in discussions and collaborations that support climate resilience and systems transformation.
Why Climate KIC is at UNCCD COP17
Desertification, land degradation and drought are not challenges confined to drylands. They are systemic risks affecting food and water security, biodiversity, livelihoods and economic resilience around the world.
Under the theme “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope”, UNCCD COP17 highlights the importance of healthy soils and landscapes as essential climate infrastructure. Restoring land at scale requires systemic approaches that connect policy, finance, innovation, science and local knowledge, an area where Climate KIC can make a distinctive contribution.
Our focus at COP17
Climate KIC is participating to build partnerships for systemic land restoration and contribute our experience across soil health, agriculture, water, resilience, place-based transformation and climate finance.
Across COP17’s thematic days on finance, water, land and people, and food systems and soil health, we will explore how these areas can come together to turn land-restoration commitments into practical, investable and locally owned action.
Climate KIC has also joined the Riyadh Action Agenda, a global community working to accelerate real-world action for land conservation and restoration.
Putting soil innovation into practice
A particular focus at COP17 is the Soil Innovation Partnership (SIP), a growing movement hosted by Climate KIC that connects farmers, researchers, advisers, businesses, policymakers and investors.
Designed as a Knowledge-to-Impact Engine, SIP helps translate scientific knowledge on soil health into solutions that can be tested in real farming conditions, supported by viable business models, policy and investment, and scaled more widely.
At COP17, we aim to connect SIP with partners beyond Europe and learn from dryland, rangeland and pastoralist communities whose experience is essential to the global land-restoration agenda.