In August 2026, governments of the world will convene in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the 17th COP of the UN desertification treaty (UNCCD). There, among other negotiation items, governments will try to develop a global drought protocol, a post-2030 strategic framework, and put into action previous decisions related to rangelands and agriculture.
COP 17 is a key opportunity to expand Woodwell’s engagement across the UN Rio Conventions and to introduce our science to the desertification debate. COP 17 offers a platform to bring our rangelands and soil research into a multilateral policy framework focused on land degradation. Woodwell aims to work alongside international policymakers and stakeholders to ensure that land degradation and soil health strategies are supported by high-resolution empirical data.
Mongolia is an ideal host for COP 17, as rangelands comprise about 90% of its territory. The timing of the conference also aligns with the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
At COP 17, researchers from Woodwell will present a new analysis of the carbon health of the world’s rangelands, and highlight how soil carbon restoration, quantitative monitoring of land productivity, and the preservation of pastoral environments are necessary for meeting global climate and food security targets.
Events
Spotlight on Carbon Health of Global Rangelands: Applications of novel ecosystem assessments to support public and private sector land management
Tuesday August 25, 10:30-12:00. Blue Zone, Room: MET -03.
This event explores the monitoring of rangeland health through integration of soil carbon storage and sequestration metrics, while identifying actionable pathways for Parties, practitioners, and communities to simultaneously combat land degradation, regulate droughts and water resources, and reduce carbon emissions. The session, featuring presentations and a panel discussion, will launch a new global assessment of rangeland carbon cycle health, using NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission data– the most comprehensive, high-resolution analysis to date. It also highlights local-to-global patterns and trajectories of plant forage productivity, soil carbon increases/losses, and ecosystem risk/resilience supporting UNCCD and associated public and private sector initiatives seeking to assess, restore, and monitor soil carbon.
Woodwell speaker: Dr. Jennifer Watts
Rangeland restoration finance, carbon, investment and regional scale-up
Wednesday August 26, 12:00-13:30. Green Zone, Room: Tsagaadai Hall.
Rangelands cover more than half the world’s land surface and hold close to a third of global soil carbon, yet restoration finance rarely reaches the people who manage them. Capital follows fixed assets and legible tenure, leaving mobile herds on communal rangelands financially disconnected. Convened on Land Day, this session brings soil-carbon measurement, pastoral practice, national land-and-water programmes and climate-finance access into one room. It asks what instruments could move restoration, carbon markets, and investment capital to herder communities at scale.
Woodwell speakers: Dr. Jennifer Watts and Jamie Cummings
Rangelands & Refreshments with Woodwell
Thursday August 27, 13:00-14:15. Blue Zone, Pavilion C2-09, The Nature Conservancy.
Woodwell would like to welcome friends new and old working on rangelands to an informal exchange focused on monitoring, reporting, and verification of rangeland science. The session will include welcome remarks from Woodwell’s Director of Science Operations and Rangelands Science Goal Lead followed by a few prompting discussion questions related to the technical elements of MRV in rangelands. There will be light bites, coffee, and tea served. Please register in advance for this event.
Woodwell speakers: Dr. Jennifer Watts and Sophia Fillion
Policy Papers
Woodwell has prepared two policy briefs in advance of the COP to highlight:
- Rangeland Science at Woodwell in a COP 17 Context
- Preliminary Outcomes from Woodwell’s Global Assessment of Carbon Health of Grazing Lands
Woodwell’s Focus
Woodwell experts will engage with policymakers and stakeholders on key issues at COP 17:
- Woodwell’s rangeland carbon analysis will be the most comprehensive and high-resolution global picture of rangeland carbon status to date. The UNCCD recognized rangelands for their “crucial ecosystem goods and services” at COP 16, and the Mongolian Presidency has selected rangelands as one of its priorities.
- Woodwell is preparing policy briefs and maps to highlight the findings of our rangeland carbon analysis. These resources will provide science-based inputs on key issues of COP17, including data gaps in soil organic carbon, land productivity and drought vulnerability in developing countries, global indicators and datasets for land governance, and the inclusion of soil organic carbon parameters in UNCCD reporting.
- Woodwell and partners will host a side event and a Green Zone event to present the rangeland carbon analysis and to explore the ties between rangeland health, carbon, food security, and climate change.
- Woodwell experts are also co-designing the Riyadh Action Agenda’s Land and Soil Breakthrough Targets out of COP 16, focused on the Science and Technology Implementation target, which will be presented at COP 17.
The following Woodwell experts will be present at COP 17, and are available to connect and to share their expertise at events, dialogues and bilateral meetings:
