Ulaanbaatar Declaration Puts Cities at Centre of Global Land Action

The adoption of the Ulaanbaatar Declaration marks an important shift in the global land agenda: from recognising the role of cities and regions to seeking their sustained participation in implementation.

For decades, desertification, land degradation and drought have largely been addressed through national policies and international negotiations, even though many decisions shaping land, water and ecosystems are made closer to communities by cities, regions and local governments.

That disconnect is at the heart of the declaration. Adopted by around 30 mayors, governors and other local and regional leaders at the UNCCD COP17 Mayors’ Forum, it calls for a stronger and more permanent role for subnational governments in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) process.

Its significance lies less in adding another political declaration to the international environmental architecture than in its effort to strengthen local implementation between UNCCD conferences.

The proposed continuation of the Riyadh Process, together with the Ulaanbaatar Initiative on measuring land degradation, could give cities a more practical role in reporting progress and sharing solutions.

The timing is also significant. Land degradation, drought, biodiversity loss, climate change and water insecurity are increasingly interconnected. Treating them as separate policy challenges can produce fragmented responses, while local governments are often dealing with several of these pressures simultaneously.

The declaration therefore makes a case for integrated local action, linking sustainable land management with drought resilience, biodiversity, climate adaptation, water security and sustainable urban development.

Its first major test, however, will be finance. Local governments frequently have responsibility for delivering resilience but limited access to international climate and environmental funding.

The declaration’s call for direct, simplified and predictable finance addresses one of the persistent barriers to turning global commitments into local projects. Without resources that can reach cities and regions, a stronger role for subnational governments risks remaining largely aspirational.

The second test will be measurement. Led by the Capital City of Ulaanbaatar, the Ulaanbaatar Initiative will test how cities can measure and report land degradation, with results intended to be shared with the UNCCD by COP18. If successful, it could help close a long-standing gap between global land targets and comparable, locally generated evidence.

Consistent measurement would also make it easier to identify what works, compare progress and direct resources towards effective interventions.The third test will be accountability. A stronger role for cities and regions will have lasting significance only if commitments can be tracked and translated into measurable outcomes.

This will require clear reporting, sustained engagement between UNCCD conferences and mechanisms for assessing whether local action is actually improving land restoration, drought preparedness, water security and urban resilience.

The declaration should therefore be viewed as more than a political statement, but not yet as a fully established implementation framework. Its real significance will depend on whether it builds a durable bridge between global land governance and local action — backed by finance, supported by credible measurement and reinforced through accountability.