From recognition to action
Indigenous voices from UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia
In 2026, the world is marking the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, a United Nations initiative led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to raise awareness of the importance of rangelands and the people who sustain them.
Rangelands, including grasslands, savannas, shrublands, steppes, deserts, mountain areas and wetlands, cover around half of the world’s land surface. Pastoralists are people whose livelihoods depend largely on raising livestock using the natural forage these landscapes provide. In many regions, mobility is fundamental to pastoralism, allowing people and animals to adapt to changing availability of water and pasture.
But pastoralism is more than a livelihood. For many Indigenous Peoples, it is connected to culture, identity, traditional knowledge, territorial governance and relationships with land that have developed over generations. Pastoralist practices can also contribute to biodiversity, healthy soils, water cycles, food security and the resilience of rangeland ecosystems.
For Aehshatou Manu, an Mbororo Indigenous Pastoralist woman from Africa, the International Year presents an opportunity to move beyond simply celebrating these contributions.
“For Indigenous pastoralists, the Year should not only be about celebrating pastoralism, but about creating lasting policy and investment commitments that strengthen pastoralist livelihoods, protect rangelands, support Indigenous-led restoration, and improve access to financing and services.”
The question of recognition took on particular significance in August, when hundreds of pastoralists joined governments, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, scientists, youth and other actors in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17).
Throughout COP17, Aehshatou Manu and Kalea Aquino were actively involved in Indigenous Peoples’ engagement in the UNCCD process. Aehshatou supported the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion and Caucus, helped organize African Day at the Pavilion, and coordinated peaceful advocacy actions calling for meaningful participation. Kalea supported the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus and followed negotiations on Indigenous Peoples’ participation, synergies among the Rio Conventions, and resource mobilization.
During Finance Day, Kalea also took the floor on behalf of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum of the UNCCD, delivering its statement during the Ministerial Dialogue.
To look more closely at what COP17 meant for Indigenous Peoples, both share their experiences from Ulaanbaatar and reflect on the progress made, the challenges that remain, and what needs to happen next.
Looking back at COP17, what discussion or moment stood out to you the most, and why?
Aehshatou: What stood out to me most was the strength and unity demonstrated by Indigenous Peoples and other social groups in demanding meaningful recognition and participation in the COP processes. African Day at the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion was also particularly meaningful because it brought African Indigenous Peoples’ realities, knowledge, challenges and solutions to the forefront while strengthening connections across regions.
Kalea: The moment that stayed with me came on the very first day, during the adoption of the agenda, when I watched the items on civil society participation, synergies among the Rio Conventions, and gender objected to and set aside before the substantive work had even begun.
“I came to understand that recognition on paper and presence in the room are two different things, and that the second does not wait for the first.”
What do you consider the most important outcome of COP17 for Indigenous Peoples and their territories?
Aehshatou: I see COP17 as an important step rather than an end point. The real outcome will depend on translating recognition and commitments into concrete action at national and local levels, including secure land and resource rights, meaningful participation in decision-making, direct access to financing, and stronger protection of Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge.
For me, the priority is to move from participation to influence, and from recognition to implementation.
Kalea: The outcome I would name sits outside the decision text: it is the way Indigenous Peoples organized ourselves when formal channels were closed. What I carry home is a clearer sense of who we are inside these negotiations and that the defense of our lands does not wait for the Convention to grant us permission to speak.
What needs to change to ensure that international commitments on land restoration and resilience translate into meaningful action at the territorial level?
Aehshatou: We need to move from commitments made at the global level to rights-based, locally led implementation at the territorial level. This requires recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ collective land and resource rights, meaningful participation in planning and decision-making, respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent, and recognition of Indigenous and traditional knowledge.
Indigenous Peoples should also have direct and simplified access to financing, technical support and other resources so they can design and lead initiatives that respond to the realities of their own territories.
What are the main barriers Indigenous Peoples still face in accessing finance and participating in decisions about land restoration?
Kalea: Access to finance remains challenging because many funding mechanisms operate at a scale and with requirements that can be difficult for Indigenous and community-based institutions to meet. Requirements related to accreditation, co-financing, proposals and reporting can limit direct access to resources.
There are also practical barriers to participation, including travel and visa costs, the technical and linguistic complexity of negotiations, and the need to involve Indigenous Peoples earlier in the design of initiatives rather than primarily at later stages of consultation.
What does the Indigenous Peoples’ Declaration mean for Indigenous Peoples’ participation and recognition within the UNCCD?
Aehshatou: The Indigenous Peoples’ Declaration is an important milestone for strengthening the recognition and participation of Indigenous Peoples within the UNCCD. It provides a stronger basis for Indigenous Peoples to continue engaging collectively with Parties and other stakeholders and advocating for their priorities to be reflected in UNCCD policies, decisions, programmes and implementation.
However, its true significance will depend on what happens after COP17.
“For me, recognition must translate into influence and concrete action on the ground.”
What message from COP17 do governments, donors and other partners need to hear most clearly from Indigenous Peoples?
Kalea: Our rights should not be seen as an obstacle to restoration, but as fundamental to making restoration efforts last. When tenure is secure and communities are involved from the outset, restoration and resilience investments can be more durable.
“If there is one thing to carry out of Ulaanbaatar, it is that respecting Indigenous Peoples is not the price of doing this work well, it is the condition of it.”
As Indigenous participants, what did being part of COP17 mean to you personally, and what are you taking away from the experience?
Kalea: Being part of COP17 meant learning that I belong in that room, not as a guest brought in to observe, but as one voice in a long line of Indigenous Peoples who have carried this work far longer than I have. I learned from sitting beside elders and delegates from other regions and watching how they hold their positions with patience and dignity.
What I am taking home is a sense of responsibility heavier and clearer than the one I arrived with […] and a conviction that defending our territories is not something that happens only in halls like the one in Ulaanbaatar.
Aehshatou: As an Indigenous Pastoralist woman from Africa, being part of COP17 was both a privilege and a deeply meaningful experience. Being part of the Indigenous Peoples’ organizing committee allowed me to see the strength that comes from collective Indigenous leadership and solidarity across the seven UN socio-cultural regions.
Personally, it reinforced my conviction that our voices matter and that Indigenous Peoples must continue to claim their rightful space in decision-making processes.
What should we be watching between now and the next UNCCD COP to determine whether the commitments made in Mongolia are actually being implemented?
Aehshatou: We should watch whether the commitments made in Mongolia are translated into concrete policies, resources and actions at national and territorial levels. This includes whether Indigenous Peoples’ rights, knowledge and participation are reflected in national strategies, whether accessible financing reaches Indigenous-led initiatives, and whether Indigenous Peoples and pastoralist communities participate in planning, implementation, monitoring and decision-making.
There is also a need for transparent monitoring and accountability mechanisms that allow Indigenous Peoples themselves to assess progress.
“For me, the real test will be whether we can see a shift from commitments and declarations at the global level to measurable improvements in the lives, livelihoods, rights, and territories of Indigenous Peoples and pastoralist communities before we arrive at the next COP.”
