Africa: Africa's Pastoralists Need More Than COP17's $1.2 Billion Rangelands Pledge

What the report says

At the UN desertification summit known as COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, governments backed a $1.2 billion initiative to restore rangelands and other degraded land, while also advancing drought-preparedness measures. The report, published by Inter Press Service and carried by AllAfrica, says the funding is aimed at landscapes that support livestock, biodiversity and rural livelihoods across dry regions, including in Africa.

The article focuses on pastoral communities in Tanzania’s northern Maasai Steppe, where failing rains can force herders to travel farther for pasture and water, reduce milk production and push families to sell cattle. It argues that such communities need more than a restoration pledge: they need grazing routes protected, early warning systems, water infrastructure and finance that actually reaches local land managers. A professor of range sciences at Sokoine University of Agriculture said rangelands are productive ecosystems, not marginal land, and warned that restoration should not be judged only by financial returns.

The piece says the broader programme includes 45 projects within a $1.3 billion package across 23 countries, with some new funding and some previously confirmed support. It also notes a major funding gap remains worldwide for land restoration, and that private capital is still a small share of investment. The article describes a shift toward larger landscape-scale projects, including initiatives in Kenya, the Zambezi River Basin and locally led adaptation financing.

COP17 also failed to settle a global drought agreement, deferring the question to 2028. According to the report, more than 70 countries now have national drought plans, and a new Drought Resilience Investment Facility was launched, but the key challenge remains turning summit promises into practical support for communities facing repeated drought.