The campaign’s final stage will highlight Mongolia’s pastoral heritage and land restoration efforts before global delegates gather to discuss drought, rangeland management and ecosystem resilience at UNCCD COP17.
The Silk Road Caravan, a global outreach campaign focused on rangelands and pastoralists, arrived in Mongolia on Friday as it entered the final stage of its journey ahead of the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which opens in Ulaanbaatar on Aug. 17.
The campaign, launched by the UNCCD in support of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 (IYRP 2026), has travelled more than 6,000 kilometres across Eurasia since departing Türkiye in May. Its route has taken participants through the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China before reaching Mongolia.
Throughout the journey, pastoralists, scientists, policymakers, young people and local communities have shared experiences and practical approaches to restoring rangelands and strengthening resilience to increasingly frequent drought conditions.
For millennia, Mongolia’s steppe has served as a corridor for the movement of people, goods and ideas across Eurasia. The Orkhon Valley, one of the country’s most important historical landscapes, was the political and cultural centre of successive nomadic empires, while generations of pastoralists developed a way of life that continues to shape Mongolia.
Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, said the journey had demonstrated the central role of people in restoring rangelands.
“Throughout the Silk Road Caravan journey, we have seen how countries and communities are managing and restoring rangelands that are inseparable from their identities, cultures, economies and ways of life. Every stop along the journey has reinforced one simple truth: people are at the heart of restoration. Those experiences remind us that there is no single path to restoration. As we gather in Mongolia for COP17, our responsibility is to turn these local experiences into global action, strengthening international cooperation and investing in the people who have been caring for these landscapes for generations,” she said.
Tsagaankhuu Iderbat, Mongolia’s Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, said the country had a long pastoral tradition and played a leading role in securing international recognition of rangelands.
“Mongolia has a long tradition of pastoralism and a deep connection to its vast rangelands, which have shaped our nomadic culture for generations. Recognizing the global importance of rangelands and pastoralists, Mongolia was proud to initiate the proposal that led the United Nations General Assembly to proclaim 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. The arrival of the Silk Road Caravan in Mongolia, followed by UNCCD COP17, provides a unique opportunity to bring global attention to rangelands, land degradation and climate change. It also reminds us that the knowledge and experience of pastoralists, developed over generations of living in harmony with nature, remain an essential part of the solutions we need today,” he said.
According to the UNCCD, rangelands cover 54 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, support around two billion people, provide nearly 70 per cent of global livestock feed and store vast amounts of carbon. Up to half of these landscapes are already degraded, threatening biodiversity, food production and rural livelihoods.
The experiences gathered during the Caravan will feed into discussions at COP17, where countries will consider future measures to restore and protect rangelands.
In Mongolia, rangelands cover around 70 per cent of the country’s territory, support the livelihoods of about one-third of the population and form one of the world’s largest remaining pastoral landscapes.
However, nearly 77 per cent of Mongolia’s land is affected by degradation. Droughts have become more frequent and the annual number of sand and dust storm days has more than tripled since the 1960s. During 2023-2024, a severe summer drought followed by the harsh winter known as dzud caused the loss of more than seven million livestock, highlighting the vulnerability of pastoral communities to drought and climate extremes.
Avirmed Gan-Ochir, an Animal Breeding Specialist at the Greengold Mongolian Rangeland Research Center and a participant in the Silk Road Caravan, said travelling through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan had revealed common experiences among pastoral communities.
“As someone who grew up on Mongolia’s rangelands, it has been inspiring to travel through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and meet pastoralists whose lives are so different, yet so similar to my own. Every community has taught us something new, from how they adapt to a changing climate to how they preserve traditions that have been passed down through generations. I am proud that the Caravan is now arriving in Mongolia, and I look forward to welcoming everyone to our country, sharing our own experiences, and continuing this exchange of knowledge ahead of COP17,” he said.
Aldarjavkhlan Jukov, Mongolia’s Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth, said the Caravan reflected the historical role of the Silk Road in connecting countries and cultures.
“For centuries, the Silk Road connected countries, peoples and civilizations. As the Silk Road Caravan reaches Mongolia, it offers an opportunity to share our nomadic culture, traditions and long-standing heritage of living in harmony with nature. Hosting the Caravan’s final stage and welcoming the world to UNCCD COP17 creates a meaningful connection between Mongolia’s cultural heritage and today’s global challenges, including land degradation, desertification and ecosystem restoration. It is an opportunity to learn from the knowledge of the past while working together towards a more sustainable future,” he said.
From Aug. 17 to 28, COP17 will bring together governments, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, civil society organizations, businesses and international organizations in Ulaanbaatar to discuss practical solutions for land restoration, drought and sustainable rangeland management.
As the first of this year’s three Rio conventions’ Conferences of the Parties, the meeting is expected to help shape the international agenda on land. Coinciding with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, COP17 will also highlight the role of rangelands in supporting food security, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and rural livelihoods.
Before the conference opens, Silk Road Caravan participants will spend a week travelling across Mongolia, from the Gobi Desert to the forests and grasslands of the country’s centre. They are scheduled to meet nomadic herder families, researchers, local authorities and pastoral cooperatives, and visit land restoration projects.
The itinerary includes Hustai National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, the Ramsar-listed Ugii Lake and the Mini Naadam festival. Participants will observe efforts to address land degradation and drought across Mongolia’s rangelands and join activities marking the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists before arriving in Ulaanbaatar for COP17.
