In February, rangelands moved further into the centre of political decision-making.
At the UK House of Lords, leaders from government, multilateral institutions, finance, science and industry came together to address a practical question: how to move from recognition to implementation on rangelands across regions, production systems and supply chains.
The parliamentary reception, co-organised by the Rangeland Stewardship Council (RSC), brought together partners including the Embassy of Mongolia in the United Kingdom, the Mongolian British Chamber of Commerce, the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in its role as Secretariat of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026).
The event marked the UK launch of COP17 of the UNCCD and contributed to the growing momentum of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
From Recognition to Implementation
Rangelands are already embedded across global agendas — climate, biodiversity, agriculture and development. The question is no longer whether they are recognised, but how that recognition translates into delivery.
Policy frameworks continue to operate across sectors, often without sufficient coordination. Financing typically follows shorter timeframes than the systems it aims to support. Programme design does not always reflect how pastoral systems operate in practice — particularly their mobility, variability and locally embedded knowledge. These disconnects continue to slow delivery at scale.
What stood out in this setting was the level of cross-sector participation. Governments, UN agencies, development banks, brands and researchers engaged in a shared exchange — not in parallel, but in interaction. That level of coordination is necessary if progress is to move beyond isolated efforts.
As Louise Baker, Managing Director of the UNCCD Global Mechanism, noted, there is a risk that momentum dissipates unless it is anchored in delivery:
“UN years have a tendency to just pass unnoticed… We are absolutely determined… to make COP a moment where this year becomes reality.”
The Transition Toward COP17
The road to COP17 builds on commitments, frameworks and political processes already in motion.
At the parliamentary reception, the COP Presidency was formally handed from Saudi Arabia to Mongolia — a symbolic but directional moment. It signalled a shift from agenda-setting toward implementation.
This transition brings a different set of expectations. COP17 is positioned not simply as another convening, but as a point where commitments on land degradation, drought resilience and sustainable land use are translated into practical pathways.
H.E. Enkhsukh Battumur, Ambassador of Mongolia to the United Kingdom, emphasised the need to strengthen efforts across climate, biodiversity and land degradation — while ensuring that solutions are shaped by those directly managing these landscapes, including women, young people and Indigenous communities.
Grounding Implementation in Existing Systems
A consistent theme throughout the discussion was the role of pastoralist systems — not as marginal practices, but as established forms of land management operating across highly variable environments. Their value lies in their adaptability and accumulated knowledge.
As Badi Besbes, Chief of Sustainable Animal Production at the FAO, stated:
“In the world, we search for solutions to climate change… pastoralists are not a part of the problem, they are part of the solutions.”
This has implications for policy and investment. Rather than introducing externally designed models, it points toward approaches that recognise, work with and strengthen existing systems.
From Alignment to Delivery
There is now broad alignment on the importance of rangelands. The challenge is translating that alignment into action at scale.
As Una Jones, Director of the RSC, noted:
“The latest planetary health check shows that we are now transgressing seven of the nine planetary boundaries… The question is no longer why rangelands matter. It’s how we act together at scale.”
Building on existing systems is necessary, but it also requires enabling structures to translate alignment into delivery:
• consistent standards for responsible rangeland management
• financing mechanisms that support long-term outcomes
• monitoring approaches that are credible across regions
• governance structures that connect global commitments with local implementation
Without these, progress remains fragmented rather than sustained at system level.
Structuring the Coalition
The coalition around rangelands is expanding. The priority now is to make it functional.
Different actors are working toward a range of outcomes, including climate mitigation, biodiversity, supply chain resilience, livelihoods. Strengthening connections between these priorities can help ensure efforts reinforce one another over time.
This requires shared approaches that link policy, finance and implementation across contexts. The RSC contributes by supporting coordination across stakeholders and helping structure how these elements come together in practice.
Without this level of coordination, efforts risk continuing in parallel rather than contributing to coherent, system-wide change.
What Comes Next
COP17 will test whether this shift holds.
Not in terms of statements, but in terms of what is put in place — frameworks, financing, and implementation pathways.
The current phase is not about building awareness. It is about making systems work.
This requires continued engagement across governments, financial institutions, industry and civil society. Stakeholders have a role in shaping how rangelands are managed, financed and supported at scale, including through the outcomes of COP17.
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