CGIAR joins IUCN Pavilion at UNCCD COP17 to advance nature-positive land, food and agricultural systems
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — IUCN welcomes CGIAR as the Gold Sponsor of the IUCN Pavilion at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Conference of the Parties (UNCCD COP17), currently underway here. This marks the first major public collaboration between the two organisations since they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this year.
"From Promise to Practice: Nature Delivering Now" is the theme of the IUCN Pavilion, which has a full programme from 17-28 August, including 10 sessions hosted by CGIAR, the world's largest public agriculture research network, on land restoration, agrifood systems, multifunctional landscapes and more.
Two events that speak most directly to IUCN’s key messages for COP17 are: Aligning Climate, Biodiversity and Land Action through Agrifood Systems Transformation (24 August), anchoring farmers, soil health and Nature-based Solutions for agriculture in achieving Land Degradation Neutrality; and Restoring Rangelands, Sustaining Pastoralist Livelihoods: NbS, Water-Smart and Investable Pathways for Drylands (25 August), calling for greater investments in rangelands and empowering pastoralists as leaders in sustainable land management. See the other CGIAR events published on the IUCN Pavilion Events page.
The IUCN Pavilion programme reflects the shared ground between IUCN’s mandate to advance nature-positive land, food and agricultural systems and CGIAR’s mission to transform food, land and water systems in a climate crisis — issues that are also central to the 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
Under the IUCN-CGIAR MoU, the partnership is committed to scaling up and accelerating action on multifunctional landscapes and ecosystem restoration, sustainable farming and livestock systems, climate change resilience and mitigation, as well as water resource management. The organisations have also pledged to take joint action on policy advocacy and support the implementation of the Rio Conventions.
IUCN appreciates CGIAR's contribution to the IUCN Pavilion and looks forward to building on this collaboration in the months ahead.
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