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©Sustainable Fibre Alliance
As the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) concludes in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, land restoration, drought resilience and sustainable rangeland management have been prominent priorities. COP17 advanced USD 1.3 billion for land restoration, with rangelands at the centre, while reinforcing calls for pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to be recognized as key implementation partners in sustainable land management and restoration. These priorities are particularly relevant to mountain regions, where communities face many of the same challenges linked to land degradation, climate variability, water scarcity and limited access to markets.
For the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, COP17 underscored the need to turn global priorities into practical opportunities for mountain communities. This is particularly important in dryland areas, where mountain rangelands support pastoral livelihoods, food production, biodiversity and water resources, while providing essential ecosystem services to communities both in the mountains and downstream. The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026 has highlighted the vital role of rangelands and pastoralists, while COP17 further propelled this message, bringing greater attention to the importance of these landscapes and the people who manage them for resilient livelihoods, food systems and ecosystems.
This means improving market access and value chains for mountain producers, while recognizing pastoralists and local communities as active partners in sustainable land management. Highlighting the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026, Mountain Partnership members participated throughout the two-week conference, bringing the perspectives of mountain producers and mobile pastoralist communities to high-level panels, side events and technical discussions.
Value addition for sustainable commodities: linking soil health, rangelands and global markets
On 27 August, the side event "Value addition for sustainable commodities: linking soil health, rangelands and global markets" brought together perspectives from rangeland stewardship, soil and landscape science, livestock research, conservation and agricultural trade. The session was organized by the Sustainable Fibre Alliance and moderated by Anne Gillespie, Strategic Lead at the Rangeland Stewardship Council. The session examined why healthy soils and landscapes matter, how environmental change can be measured and translated into practical production systems and how credible evidence can support market recognition and stronger incentives for producers.
Speaking on behalf of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, Fritjof Boerstler, Senior Natural Resources Officer, FAO Forestry Division, highlighted the "Fashion for Fragile Ecosystems" initiative as an example. In Mongolia and Nepal, the initiative links sustainable rangeland management to high-value fibre chains for yak wool, cashmere and nettle fibre, connecting women artisans directly with global designers. The initiative has seen resounding success, where the capsule collections created from the exchange between small-scale producers and designers have been showcased at Milan Fashion Week, reaching markets once out of reach.
Fritjof noted that mountain producers face steep barriers to begin with: harsh weather, shallow soils and long distances to market keep production small-scale and costly, while limited access to finance and certification means producers often capture only a fraction of a product's final value. Origin, traceability and producer knowledge can help close that gap, he said, supported by the Mountain Partnership's Business Incubator and Accelerator, which backs mountain entrepreneurs through grants and technical assistance in agricultural and textile value chains.
The discussions at the side event reinforced the importance of taking an integrated approach to soil health, rangeland condition, sustainable commodity production, finance and market value. Participants highlighted the need for producer-centred approaches supported by practical and credible measurement, ensuring that sustainability interventions respond to local realities while demonstrating measurable improvements. The discussion also pointed to opportunities to strengthen public-private collaboration and develop market incentives that can create greater value for producers while supporting more sustainable supply chains.
Speakers included Tor-Gunnar Vågen, Principal Senior Scientist and Head of the Spatial Data Science and Applied Learning Lab at the Landscape Alliance, Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF); Una Jones, Founder of the Rangeland Stewardship Council and Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance; Julian Bayliss, Conservation Scientist and Trustee of the Rangeland Stewardship Council; Zhou Baogui, Deputy Chairman of Beijing Wod Chen-Long Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Chief Expert on a Key Special Project under China's National Key Research and Development Program; Martina Fleckenstein, Global Policy Director for Food at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); and Oyunbileg Damdin, Founder of the Export and Investment Trading Company (EITC) and Head of Export Mongolia Initiatives.
Looking ahead
The Mountain Partnership Secretariat welcomes the outcomes of UNCCD COP17, including the decisions adopted by Parties to advance land restoration, drought resilience and sustainable rangeland management. These messages reinforce the importance of placing mountain communities and producers at the centre of efforts to restore degraded landscapes and build resilient livelihoods.
As countries advance the implementation of commitments under the Rio Conventions, the Mountain Partnership will leverage this momentum toward the culmination of the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions and the Second Global Mountain Summit (Bishkek+25) both in 2027. The upcoming summit in Kyrgyzstan will provide a vital platform to translate COP17 commitments into dedicated investments for sustainable, resilient mountain economies worldwide.
