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GENEVA, Switzerland, (ITC News) – Across the world, heat, drought and land degradation are becoming harder to ignore. Wildfires are destroying landscapes and livelihoods, rivers and reservoirs are shrinking, and water scarcity is putting pressure on communities, businesses and energy systems. In some regions, low river levels are already restricting shipping and pushing cargo onto more expensive transport routes.
Land degradation is not only an environmental issue. It affects how economies function.
Land supports agriculture, tourism, industry, water systems, biodiversity and many of the raw materials that feed into global value chains. When land is degraded, the effects can travel far beyond the place where the damage occurs.
This is the backdrop to UNCCD COP17, taking place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August 2026.
Often referred to as the Land COP, it is the main decision-making meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Governments meet every two years to address desertification, land degradation and drought and agree on collective responses.
Why land matters for trade
Many global value chains depend directly or indirectly on healthy land. Food and agriculture are the most obvious examples, but the connection goes further. Textiles, natural ingredients, construction materials, tourism and other sectors all rely on functioning ecosystems. Drought and land degradation can also disrupt water, energy and transport systems.
For small businesses, these shocks are hard to absorb. At the same time, small businesses are driving many of the solutions — from land restoration and water management to circular production and resource-efficient technologies.
But to scale, they need customers, finance, partners and enabling conditions.
That is why the International Trade Centre (ITC) is at COP17 with a delegation of entrepreneurs from the Youth Ecopreneur Programme (YECO).
Scaling solutions that already work
YECO, a joint initiative of ITC and the UNCCD / G20 Global Land Initiative, supports young entrepreneurs running businesses that respond to environmental challenges.
The entrepreneurs attending COP17 are already operating across land restoration, circular production, sustainable agriculture and technology. They are not presenting ideas – they are scaling real businesses.
At COP17, they will engage with policymakers, investors and partners on what helps restoration businesses grow, where finance is still missing, and how to reach new markets.
Throughout the conference, the delegation will contribute to discussions on youth innovation, the business case for land restoration and the finance needed to scale restoration enterprises.
Want to join the conversation? Explore ITC’s COP17 event page to see where to find us and discover all sessions involving ITC and the YECO delegation.
Land, climate and biodiversity are connected
The Land COP sits alongside the UN climate and biodiversity COPs. While their mandates differ, the challenges are deeply interconnected.
Climate change can intensify drought. Degraded land is more vulnerable to extreme weather. Healthy ecosystems support carbon storage, biodiversity and water regulation.
For businesses and communities, these links translate into disrupted supply chains, higher costs and greater uncertainty.
As the United Nations agency focused on small businesses and trade, ITC works with small businesses across developing and transition economies.
Land restoration is not only about restoring hectares. It is about protecting the natural systems economies depend on — and helping businesses with proven solutions reach the scale where they can make a difference.
