Mongolia to host international conference to fight desertification

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Last week Mongolia signed the official agreement with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to host COP17 in its capital, Ulan Bataar, in 2026.
COP17 refers to the 17th session of the Conference of Parties concerned about desertification with 194 participating countries.
UPI spoke with Ambassador Jargalsaikhan Ensaikhan of Mongolia who was in Washington for discussions related to preparations for the conference.
The Gobi desert is a vast, cold, arid region that spreads across southern Mongolia and northern China.
"It is expanding bit by bit," said Ensaikhan. "The sands are moving."
Mongolia is a vast sweep of grasslands that stretch eastwards across Central Asia. According to UNCCD, 60% of the land across the region is used for grazing and one-third of the population depends on it for their living
The problem is not limited to Mongolia and Central Asia. UNCCD estimates there are 500 million pastoralists worldwide.
"More than 100 countries face desertification problems," said Ensaikhan. "Most of them are in the Global South."
He estimated that more than 70% of the land in Mongolia itself was under threat from spreading sands, winds and dust storms that strip topsoil, and drought conditions.
These have a damaging effect on food security, biodiversity, and the livelihoods ofherders according to UNCCD reports.
Mongolia is pushing back against the spreading sands through a national reforestation campaign called "One Billion Trees."
The goal is to reach that target by 2030 and every citizen is being encouraged to plant.
Reforestation is an effective measure against desertification. Tree roots serve to fix the topsoil more firmly and hold the water in it. They also act as windbreaks when planted strategically.
Ensaikhan said there was a technical dimension to the tree planting to ensure it is effective.
"Not every type of tree will grow in Mongolia. You have to know what willgrow where. There needs to be research."
One of the purposes of next year's COP17 meeting is to share best practices in combatting desertification and commission joint research projects since, as Ensaikhan observed, "nobody was working on how to do reforestation" effectively.
Ensaikhan served as Mongolia's ambassador to Austria, Italy, and the UN. He is currently the chair of Blue Banner, an NGO committed to promoting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and establishing a nuclear-weapons-free zone in Northeast Asia.

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