The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification met from August 17 to 28, 2026 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the theme 'Restore the Land, Restore Hope.' It brought together delegations from the Convention's 197 Parties.
The outcome falls short of African expectations: the binding drought framework long sought by the continent's countries was pushed back to COP18, set for Egypt, for lack of consensus. The Convention's budget was nonetheless maintained, after a reversal by the United States on the issue.
The stakes remain high for Africa: more than 45% of the world's degraded land is found there, according to the African Development Bank, which is calling for stronger partnerships with governments and local communities to address the scourge.
For Sahel and Central African countries, including Cameroon, the absence of a binding framework means more waiting: without clear international obligations, funding for land restoration remains scattered across bilateral initiatives and one-off programs.
The AfDB continues to mobilize its own sustainable finance instruments on the continent regardless of the UN timetable — a way of not making African climate action hostage to COP outcomes alone.
Whether COP18 in Egypt can overcome the deadlock that doomed this 17th edition, or whether the drought issue will keep running into the same North-South fault lines, remains to be seen.
