The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an international treaty established to address desertification, land degradation, and drought. Its legally binding nature is a defining feature. The UNCCD is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), collectively known as the “Rio Conventions.” The UNCCD was first adopted in Paris, France, in 1994 and entered into force in 1996. It currently has 197 parties. South Korea became a party in 1999.
The UNCCD’s core objective is “Land Degradation Neutrality” (LDN). Land Degradation Neutrality is the concept of maintaining or improving the quantity and quality of land resources so that the ecosystems’ functions and services provided by land can be sustained. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)also state, under Target 15.3 of Goal 15, “Life on Land,” the aim of achieving a land degradation-neutral world by 2030. This requires preventing the degradation of healthy land and reducing damage through sustainable land management. At the same time, already degraded land must be restored. To date, 131 countries have agreed to participate in setting land degradation neutrality targets, and more than 100 of them have established national targets.
South Korea has also played a role in this process. The Changwon Initiative, launched by the South Korean government at the 10th session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP10), held in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, in 2011, later developed into an international cooperation program supporting countries’ voluntary establishment and implementation of land degradation neutrality targets. More than 100 countries currently participate in the Changwon Initiative.
The theme of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17), held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from August 17 to 28, 2026, was “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.” The UNCCD estimates that up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded, while approximately 77% of Mongolia, the host country, is also degraded. In particular, as this year has been designated by the United Nations as the “2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists,” the conference addressed the sustainable management and restoration of grasslands, as well as the livelihoods and resilience of pastoralist communities, as key agenda items.
Land degradation is also connected to corporate supply chains. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)recommends that companies and financial institutions identify their dependencies and impacts on nature, as well as the resulting risks and opportunities, across their value chains. Particularly in industries closely linked to land-use change, such as agriculture and forestry, examining where raw materials are produced and how their production affects forests and land ecosystems is part of managing nature-related risks. Since land degradation affects food production, water availability, livelihoods, and economic stability, desertification and land restoration are not merely environmental issues in specific regions; they also have implications for raw-material sourcing and supply-chain stability.
by Editor O