Nairobi, Kenya, 12 December 2025 - The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in the lead-up to and beyond UNCCD COP17, placing emphasis on supporting Parties to improve sustainable land management and achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
The MoU seeks to strengthen collaboration between IUCN and UNCCD on rangelands, drought resilience, and sustainable land and natural resource management. The agreement was formalised at the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) during a signing ceremony between IUCN Director General, Grethel Aguilar, and UNCCD Executive Secretary, Yasmine Fouad.
The MoU highlights the shared commitment of both organisations to accelerate action on land degradation, restoration of terrestrial ecosystems and drought, support Parties in achieving LDN, and advance NbS as central to sustainable development. The MoU will guide joint action on technical cooperation, policy dialogues, and knowledge exchange, while leveraging IUCN's scientific expertise and global membership alongside UNCCD's mandate as the sole legally binding international agreement on land. It also paves the way for joint initiatives around the upcoming 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), set to take place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in late 2026.
Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, said: "This agreement reaffirms the strong partnership between IUCN and the UNCCD Secretariat at a critical moment for global land and climate action. By joining forces, we can better support governments, communities, and civil society in restoring degraded land, strengthening drought resilience, and safeguarding biodiversity. Together, we will ensure that Nature-based Solutions remain at the heart of global strategies to combat desertification and deliver benefits for people and nature alike."
Dr. Yasmine Fouad, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said:
"This agreement comes at a pivotal moment for global land and climate action. As we move towards UNCCD COP17, countries need stronger partnerships to accelerate restoration, build drought resilience and achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. By deepening our collaboration with IUCN, we are bringing together science, policy expertise and community - driven knowledge to support Parties turn commitments into real progress on the ground. Together, we can scale solutions that restore degraded land, strengthen communities and safeguard the natural systems that sustain us all."
Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. It is the driving force behind Sustainable Development Goal 15 and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). The UNCCD Secretariat acts as an advocate for land, ensuring land-related issues like LDN and drought resilience are put front and centre on the development agenda. The Secretariat champions healthy, productive and accessible land around the world by acting as a bridge between science and policy, providing access to the latest data and knowledge, and assisting the Conference of Parties (COP) and its subsidiary bodies.
As a partner to the Convention since 2011, IUCN supports progress towards policies and programmes that deliver LDN through the application of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). IUCN has actively influenced the evolution of the Convention, including the development, adoption, and implementation of LDN. IUCN is also an institutional observer of the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) and was recently an observer on the Intergovernmental Working Group for the Midterm Evaluation of the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework.
Guided by its Resolutions and Recommendations and consistent with its Programme, IUCN engages with the UNCCD by providing inputs on a variety of topics and priorities including restoration, grasslands and rangelands, governance and rights, gender mainstreaming, NbS, sustainable agriculture, water management, and drought. The UNCCD recognises NbS as one important approach to achieving the Convention's aims as well as the SGDs, as NbS can offer co-benefits including poverty reduction, food security, women's empowerment, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable management of natural resources, while also contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation by transforming degraded lands into carbon sinks.
Notes to editors
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IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world's largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 16,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.
IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.
Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystemsand improve people's well-being.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the global vision and voice for land. We unite governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world's land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 Parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigating today's impacts of land degradation and advancing tomorrow's land stewardship in order to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner.