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Landmark journey carries momentum from UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh to COP17 in Ulaanbaatar

The news is from UNCCD official website: https://www.unccd.int/news-stories/press-releases/silk-road-caravan-set…

Bonn/Antalya, 13 May 2026 — The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) today launched the Silk Road Caravan in Türkiye, kicking off a journey across Eurasian countries to spotlight rangelands and pastoralist communities on the road from the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Riyadh to COP17 in Ulaanbaatar in August 2026.

Supporting the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, the initiative will highlight the vital role of rangelands in sustaining food and water security, climate stability and economic resilience. It will also champion pastoralism as one of the most sustainable, yet underappreciated, livelihoods — especially in drylands, which make up most of the world’s rangelands and are among the most vulnerable to land degradation.

Following the historic Silk Road, the caravan will bring together pastoralists from various countries, alongside filmmakers and experts, on a unique storytelling journey. Travelling across steppes, deserts, and highland pastures, they will engage with local communities to document solutions rooted in both traditional knowledge and the latest science — sharing these stories with a global audience through social media, the silkroadcaravan.org website and a long-form documentary.

“Rangelands cover more than half of the Earth’s land surface and support billions of people, yet in some regions are disappearing faster than rainforests. The Silk Road Caravan brings these landscapes and their stewards to the forefront of global attention, as we move from UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh to COP17 in Ulaanbaatar with a shared responsibility to restore land, build drought resilience and secure our common future,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad during the launch ceremony in Antalya, Türkiye, alongside representatives of pastoralist communities, participating countries and partners.

As host of the Caravan’s launch, Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Türkiye Hasan Suver stated: “This meaningful and symbolic journey, stretching from Türkiye to Mongolia, represents a major awareness-raising initiative aimed at promoting the protection of rangelands, sustainable pastoralist livelihoods, and holistic approaches to land management. Beginning in Erzurum on 6 May and continuing through Malatya and Gaziantep before reaching Antalya, the journey highlights the value of rangeland ecosystems across the diverse geographies of our country. Through the field visits, filming, interviews, and meetings with local communities carried out along the way, we have once again seen that rangeland ecosystems are not only natural resources, but also an essential part of cultural heritage, economic resilience, and social sustainability.”

UNCCD Goodwill Ambassador Inna Modja, artist and singer from Mali, who has travelled with the Silk Road Caravan over 1,000 km across Türkiye, said: “I am honoured to join an initiative that brings together cultures, traditions and knowledge shaped by the land. Along this journey, we will carry the voices of pastoral communities across regions, revealing how deeply people and land are connected. I believe the Silk Road Caravan will be a powerful contribution to the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, helping ensure these communities and landscapes are truly seen, heard and valued.”

Following Türkiye, the Silk Road Caravan will traverse several Eurasian countries, including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia and Uzbekistan.In addition, countries around the world are encouraged to organize symbolic events in the spirit of the Silk Road Caravan on Desertification and Drought Day, to be observed globally on 17 June under the theme ‘Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.”’The Caravan's journey will culminate at the UNCCD COP17, which is taking place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17-28 August 2026.

The Eurasian rangelands (steppes) stretch over 8,000 kilometres from the Black Sea to the Mongolian Plateau and Northeast China, forming the world’s largest contiguous area of grazing land. Comprising one-quarter of global rangelands and over six per cent of the Earth’s total surface area, they are characterized by an arid to semi-arid climate and vast open spaces divided by mountain ranges, where livelihoods are largely dependent on pastoralism.

Road from Riyadh to Ulaanbaatar

Silk Road Caravan builds on the momentum created in 2024 at UNCCD COP16 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where countries adopted the Convention’s first-ever decision on rangelands. The decision urges Parties to prioritize policies and investments for the sustainable management of rangelands — halting their indiscriminate conversion, overexploitation, and fragmentation as well as the marginalization of pastoralists in decisions on land management and tenure security. The journey reflects the continued engagement of the COP16 Presidency, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whose leadership has helped elevate land and drought as global priorities.

“COP16 marked an important step forward, with countries agreeing for the first time on a dedicated decision to support the sustainable management of rangelands. As COP16 Presidency, we remain committed to maintaining this momentum — working with partners to translate commitments into coordinated action that strengthens resilience and supports livelihoods in rangelands and beyond,” said Ahmed Saleh Al-Ayada, CEO of the Saudi National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification.

UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, will provide the most significant opportunity to date to advance international cooperation on sustainable rangeland management and strengthen frameworks for inclusive governance, with a focus on aligning investments, policies and practices to deliver results at scale.

“We look forward to welcoming the Silk Road Caravan to Ulaanbaatar for COP17, where the voices, experiences and solutions gathered along this journey will help shape global policy discussions. Mongolia is committed to delivering strong outcomes for rangelands — advancing their sustainable management, strengthening the role of pastoral communities, and ensuring decision-makers fully recognize the value of these ecosystems and the people who steward them,” said Uyangaa Enkhtur , Officer at Livestock, Animal Genetics, Resource Policy Implementation and Coordination Department, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia.

Rangelands are among the world’s most vital yet undervalued ecosystems, supporting around two billion people and providing one-sixth of global food supply as well as most livestock feed. They are also home to a rich diversity of cultures and biodiversity, including nearly a quarter of the world’s languages. Yet up to half of these landscapes are already degraded or at risk, with declining soil fertility, capacity for water retention and carbon storage undermining their productivity and resilience.

More information about the Silk Road Caravan: silkroadcaravan.org

More information about rangelands in Eurasia, Southern Africa and South America:

Communal management of rangelands Community-based natural resources management in Southern Africa
Land use change and rangeland degradation: Mobile pastoralism and silvopastoral solutions in South America
Rangeland health and drought resilience: The promise of sustainable pastoralism in Eurasia
For media enquiries

For accreditation, interview requests, or to join part of the journey, please contact the UNCCD Press Office: press@unccd.int

Photos and videos from the journey are available from: https://trello.com/b/cnDvxXv9/silk-road-caravan

For media enquiries

UNCCD Press Office: press@unccd.int

About UNCCD 

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the global vision and voice for land. We unite governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world’s land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 Parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigating today’s impacts of land degradation and advancing tomorrow’s land stewardship in order to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner.

About UNCCD COP17

The seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17–28 August 2026 under the theme ‘Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.’ Delegates from UNCCD’s 197 Parties will join leaders from government, business, civil society, scientists, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to advance action for healthy land as a cornerstone of global resilience, stability and prosperity. As the first of the three Rio Conventions COPs —on land, biodiversity and climate— meeting this year, UNCCD COP17 will set the tone for the rest of 2026 and beyond.