During 17 to 28 August, 2026, global leaders gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

under the theme ‘Restoring Land. Restoring Hope’. Discussions focused on restoring degraded soils to safeguard global food security, build drought resilience and transform agriculture to meet a 50% rise in food demand by 2050.

 

At the conference, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)’s Global Schools Program advocated for integrating land degradation into education. During the session ‘Education for Land’, Global Schools joined Mongolian students, educators and restoration experts to highlight youth leadership and outdoor environmental learning.

 

Looking forward, SDSN and the UNCCD’s G20 Global Land Initiative launched Land Action Labs, an initiative bringing practical training, educational resources and hands-on activities to classrooms worldwide to empower the next generation of land stewards.