LocationsProtecting nature, sustaining livelihoods: Mongolia at Biodiversity COP17
October 28, 2026
Protecting nature, sustaining livelihoods: Mongolia at Biodiversity COP17
In Mongolia, biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change converge on the same landscapes. Grasslands sustain wildlife and livestock; watersheds support water supplies and resilience to drought. As these systems deteriorate, ecological pressures become economic ones, threatening rural incomes and livelihoods. Protecting nature therefore requires development decisions that recognise these connections, not conservation measures alone.
For Mongolia, the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), held in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October, was a chance to bridge national commitments and the realities of managing land, water and livelihoods in a changing climate. It marked the first global review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and, following UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, sharpened a shared implementation challenge: turning interconnected commitments into coordinated action.
Turning national targets into investment and action
Approved in June 2026, Mongolia’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for 2026 to 2030 sets out 20 targets and 108 actions. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported the Government of Mongolia in updating the plan with Global Environment Facility (GEF) funding. Its value now depends on whether targets shape budgets, investment and local decisions. The NBSAP should work alongside the national climate action plan (NDC 3.0) and the National Adaptation Plan to link national targets to budgets, guide investment that supports both nature and climate goals, coordinate institutions and track results. UNDP supports this alignment and integrated approaches to addressing land, climate and biodiversity challenges, alongside clear institutional responsibilities, capable local authorities and monitoring of ecosystem and livelihood outcomes.
Turning Mongolia’s biodiversity ambitions into action will require sufficient financing aligned with national biodiversity priorities. Financing will determine how far Mongolia’s biodiversity ambitions translate into action. Implementing the plan is estimated to require an overall investment of MNT 2.8 trillion, or USD 785 million, through 2030. Meeting this requirement means mobilising additional resources while ensuring existing spending contributes more effectively to conservation and restoration.
Through the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), UNDP supports Mongolia in improving biodiversity-related expenditure, identifying financial inefficiencies, and opportunities to mobilize additional resources such as strengthening implementation of the Natural Resource Use Fees Law, connecting resource mobilisation with how funds are allocated and used. The wider challenge is to make biodiversity part of mainstream economic planning and investment decisions, so that conservation is not financed in isolation from the activities that shape the health of ecosystems.
Linking conservation with resilient livelihoods
For years, UNDP has supported a wide range of programmes that link conservation with more resilient livelihoods. The GEF-funded UNDP project shows how conservation can support rural incomes. Participating herders reduced livestock numbers by 30 percent without sacrificing income. Alongside habitat restoration and sustainable pasture management, the project supported protection of 1.2 million hectares, linking reduced pressure on land with secure livelihoods.
The GEF Small Grants Programme puts community leadership at the centre. Since 2002, it has supported more than 500 community-led projects in Mongolia, drawing on local knowledge for conservation, restoration and livelihoods. Partnerships, technical support and financing help communities shape solutions around their own priorities.
Through the Green Climate Fund-supported ADAPT project, UNDP links climate-informed land and water management with resilient agriculture and improved markets for sustainable livestock products. Connecting resource management with rural incomes makes adaptation an economic as well as an environmental priority, helping households respond to climate pressures while sustaining livelihoods.
UNDP Mongolia’s engagement at Biodiversity COP17
Mongolia has practical experience in biodiversity financing, community-led conservation and climate-resilient livelihoods to contribute to the global nature agenda. At CBD COP17, UNDP Mongolia supported several side events to share it and learn from other countries.
Advancing gender equality and inclusive biodiversity action. Mongolia contributed to discussions on gender-responsive biodiversity governance, including the high-level Gender Equality as Accelerator event, with participation from the National Committee on Gender Equality. At Inclusive Action for Biodiversity Outcomes, Mongolia shared its experience integrating gender into NBSAP, highlighting women's leadership, inclusive decision-making and equitable access to resources.
Strengthening policy coherence and digital innovation across the Rio Conventions. At two complementary events, From Ulaanbaatar to Yerevan and Digital and Technology Dialogues, Mongolia highlighted sustainable food systems as an entry point for integrated biodiversity, climate and land restoration action. The discussions also showcased UNDP's AI-informed Nature-Climate Policy Coherence Analyzer, piloted in Mongolia and Panama, as a tool to identify policy synergies, gaps and trade-offs across the Rio Conventions. Mongolia's updated NBSAP was also introduced at the Government of Mongolia Pavilion.
Making finance work for nature. Biodiversity financing featured prominently at CBD COP17, including the ministerial dialogue Financial Action for Nature. BIOFIN-related discussions highlighted reforming harmful subsidies, redirecting financial flows and mobilising investment in nature-positive solutions, priorities that align with Mongolia's efforts to improve natural resource revenue management and secure sustainable financing for NBSAP implementation.
From global review to national implementation. The first global review at CBD COP17 delivered a clear message: despite progress in national biodiversity planning, the world is not yet on track to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Fewer than half of assessed national targets are on course, with gaps in financing, capacity and coordination hindering implementation. Discussions on the proposed Yerevan Pathway reinforced the need to move from commitments to implementation through targeted investment, stronger accountability and measurable results.
For Mongolia, CBD COP17 reinforces the urgency of implementing its newly approved NBSAP by translating targets into funded actions, strengthening coordination and monitoring, and mobilising partnerships. Lessons from Yerevan can help align biodiversity finance, sustainable food systems, land restoration and climate resilience with national development priorities.
Three COPs, one agenda for action
At this Tri-COP moment, UNDP is bringing the biodiversity, land and climate agendas together around one imperative: moving from negotiation to implementation. For Mongolia, the opportunity is to build continuity across the three COPs, so that priorities advanced at one strengthen delivery under the others. This requires sustained investment, institutions equipped to act and accountability for results beyond the conference cycle.
UNDP will support this transition by advocating for greater investment in nature, helping align public and private finance with national priorities, and strengthening capacities to turn plans into results. Central to this work is ensuring that local communities, women and youth have the resources and influence to participate and lead. Success will be measured not by the commitments Mongolia carries between conferences, but by the lasting improvements they deliver for its landscapes and the people who depend on them.
