ULAN BATOR, September 6 — The United States has blocked a global drought treaty at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification summit, leaving a $300 billion annual economic exposure without binding international framework until at least 2028. The move, delivered by the US delegation at COP17 in August, postpones formal negotiations to the next summit in Egypt. Washington’s position cut against the grain of 197 participating governments.
US officials argued droughts constitute national problems that individual states must manage independently. The administration also vetoed agenda items proposed by indigenous communities and civil society from the opening sessions, officials noted.
The economic stakes are substantial. Data shows drought has increased by 30% since 2000 worldwide. Desertification now affects 40% of land that has lost biological and economic productivity, with about 100 million hectares of productive land degraded annually—an area equivalent to Egypt.
The UN estimates $355 billion in annual investment is needed until 2030 to halt land degradation. By 2050, three out of every four people on the planet are expected to be affected by drought.
The US remains party to the UNCCD despite withdrawing from climate and biodiversity summits. This selective multilateralism has drawn scrutiny from delegates watching Washington retain veto leverage over land-use finance while disengaging from parallel environmental frameworks.
Partial Gains Amid Failure
Governments did secure $1.3 billion in announced funding to restore land and combat desertification across 23 states. However, the UN admitted only $650 million of this represents new commitments, not pre-existing projects. Of the total, $1.2 billion will flow to 45 pasture recovery initiatives, timed to 2026’s designation as the International Year of Pastures and Pastoralists.
Pastures cover 54% of global land surface and support about 2 billion people. Two institutional mechanisms emerged from the deadlock.
Delegates created the Drought Resilience Investment Fund (DRIF), targeting $400 million in private capital mobilization. A Drought Resilience Index was also established to help countries assess drought levels systematically.
Central Asian Exposure
For Kazakhstan and regional economies, the failure carries direct trade and resource implications. More than 3 billion people live in areas experiencing desertification and land degradation, including the Mediterranean basin—a key export corridor for Central Asian commodities. Pasture degradation threatens the livestock trade that anchors rural economies across the steppe and into Mongolia, where the summit convened.
The outcome demonstrated declining multilateralism even on issues with clear global economic dimensions. The US intervention suggests Washington will resist binding drought commitments through the 2028 Egyptian summit, leaving private mechanisms like DRIF and bilateral arrangements as the primary channels for land restoration finance.
What to watch: whether the $650 million in new commitments materializes on schedule, and if DRIF can attract its targeted private capital before COP18. The 2028 Egyptian negotiations will test whether a binding treaty framework can overcome US opposition—or whether drought governance fragments into national and voluntary regimes while degradation accelerates.
