WOCAT

Meet us at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia between August 17 and 28. As the knowledge partner of the UNCCD, WOCAT will be featured in the plenary sessions related to SLM and LDN knowledge exchange, capacity building and reporting, and share latest SLM and LDN evidence, tools and insights with our partners during side events.

We look forward to engaging with Country Parties and all other stakeholders throughout the conference.

In the context of the Decision 9/COP.15 and 9/COP.16, WOCAT and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are sharing a new two-page brief highlighting how their collaboration helps connect experience from GEF-founded projects and programmes with the WOCAT Global SLM Database - turning project-level knowledge into a resource for practitioners, policymakers and future investments.

As the host country of UNCCD COP17, Mongolia showcases a selection of SLM best practices that address land degradation, strengthen resilience, and support sustainable livelihoods. The compendium highlights local knowledge and solutions that support land productivity, strengthen the resilience of rural livelihoods and support Mongolia’s commitments to combat desertification and achieve LDN.

Newly documented SLM practices from Brazil's Caatinga region have been added to the Database through the REDESER Project (Combating Desertification in Brazil's Semi-Arid Caatinga Region). These experiences are featured during the COP17 side event "635 Knowledge for Implementing the Rio Conventions" on 18 August, 18:00-19:30 (MET-05), highlighting how locally tested solutions can support implementation of the Rio Conventions and strengthen resilience in dryland ecosystems.

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Prof. em. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans Hurni, initiator of WOCAT and a pioneer in sustainable land management. He passed away at the age of 75 on 27 September 2026. We are deeply grateful for Hans's vision, persistence, and commitment, and for the community he helped to build. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and all those who had the privilege of working with him.

We invite you to read our full tribute to Hans and his contribution to WOCAT here.

Ahead of UNCCD COP17, CBD COP17 and UNFCCC COP31, the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) has published How Healthy Soil Aligns the Rio Conventions and Global Agendas. The brief shows how healthy soils advance the goals of all three conventions at once: enhancing land degradation neutrality, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
One of its proposed entry points concerns how countries report on SLM. Under PRAIS, the UNCCD's national reporting system, Parties already report SLM practices under Strategic Objective 1 ("Actions on the Ground"). They are directed to the Global SLM Database to document and reference good practices. The brief recommends taking this a step further by strengthening interoperability between PRAIS and platforms such as WOCAT.

The new DS4LDN project is underway, supporting UNCCD Parties in strengthening capacities for inclusive, evidence-based decision-making for LDN. DS4LDN works through three complementary components: global capacity development and knowledge exchange, country-level implementation in 9 partner countries, and South–South collaboration and knowledge sharing. WOCAT/CDE, as implementing partner, contributes its expertise in participatory land degradation assessment, SLM and decision support. Following the project's official launch at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia, implementation is now moving forward.