ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Around 30 mayors, governors, and local leaders from across the globe adopted the Ulaanbaatar Declaration on Local and Regional Governments: Local Leadership for Land Resilience during the UNCCD COP17 Mayors' Forum in Ulaanbaatar on August 21, 2026. The document establishes a unified roadmap to integrate local leadership into global environmental commitments, bridging land restoration, biodiversity conservation, water security, and climate action. 

“Land resilience is not an abstract global agenda. It is about whether our cities can provide safe water, clean air, green spaces, secure livelihoods and a healthy future for our children and our communities. Through the Ulaanbaatar Declaration and the Ulaanbaatar Initiative, we are advancing a people-centered, gender-sensitive and child-friendly approach to sustainable urban development, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Ulaanbaatar is proud to help connect local and regional governments across dryland and extreme-climate regions, so that cities can share knowledge, measure land degradation more practically, and turn global commitments into action in our communities. This initiative is our contribution to a stronger regional and global network of cities working together for land, water, climate resilience and future generations.” said B.Purevdagva, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar.

“National commitments set the direction, but implementation ultimately happens in cities, regions and communities. Local and regional governments make many decisions that shape how land and water are managed, how communities prepare for drought, extreme heat and other climate-related risks. And how resilient infrastructure and services are delivered. The Ulaanbaatar Declaration is an important step in moving from recognition of their role to sustained engagement and practical action. Their experience, knowledge and proximity to communities are essential if we are to turn global commitments into measurable results on the ground.” said Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.

The declaration directly addresses interconnected planetary crises, emphasizing that compact, resource-efficient urbanization and stronger urban-rural linkages are crucial to curbing land degradation, unmanaged sprawl, and forced rural migration.  

Key Pillars of the Declaration

• Institutionalizing Local Leadership: Delegates called on the UNCCD process to establish a formal engagement mechanism for subnational authorities and to include municipal representatives in national UN delegations. The outcome positions the COP17 Mayors’ Forum as an official contribution to the broader summit.  

• Direct Access to Climate Finance: The declaration urges international financial institutions, development banks, and donors to simplify direct, long-term funding channels for local governments to implement nature-based solutions, watershed management, and drought resilience projects.  

• Synergy Across Global Agendas: Highlighting 2026 as a critical year where the Conferences of the Parties for all three Rio Conventions (UNCCD, UNFCCC, and CBD) meet alongside the UN Water Conference, the text demands integrated policies aligning land-use, transport, water, and housing toward Land Degradation Neutrality.  

• Land Governance & Food Systems: Local leaders pledged to strengthen land tenure security—particularly in peri-urban areas—and support sustainable territorial food systems to combat food and water insecurity.  

• Drought & Displacement Preparedness: The consensus calls for enhanced early warning systems, groundwater recharge initiatives, and targeted municipal support for populations internally displaced by desertification.  

Building on the foundation laid at the COP16 Mayors' Forum in Riyadh, the Ulaanbaatar Declaration sends a firm message to international policymakers: global goals on land, climate, and biodiversity cannot be met unless local and regional governments are recognized not merely as implementers, but as key decision-making partners in shaping global policy.