Rights and Resources Initiative

08/28/2026

What happens when the voices of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, pastoralists, and civil society are pushed to the margins of global environmental negotiations?

At COP17, discussions related to gender equality, civil society participation, and the role of Indigenous Peoples within the UNCCD process have come under pressure. For many communities, this is not a procedural issue. It is about whether those most affected by land degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss have a meaningful seat at the table. The protection of participation, rights, and representation remains central to achieving lasting solutions for people and the planet.

Throughout the second week of COP17, we continue to engage across side events, media activities, interviews, and policy discussions, working alongside Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, Afro-descendant Peoples, women, youth, and local communities to ensure their rights, leadership, and participation remain central to global land restoration efforts.

Meaningful participation is not optional. It is essential.

📍 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

🌍 UNCCD COP17








United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification CAOI Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners - ILEPA Steps Without Borders NGO / Хил хязгааргүй алхам төв ТББ Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organization MPIDO. Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal Udaypur International Land Coalition IGAD Secretariat Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) United Nations Development Programme - UNDP

08/28/2026

What happens when the voices of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, pastoralists, and civil society are pushed to the margins of global environmental negotiations?

At COP17, discussions related to gender equality, civil society participation, and the role of Indigenous Peoples within the UNCCD process have come under pressure. For many communities, this is not a procedural issue. It is about whether those most affected by land degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss have a meaningful seat at the table. The protection of participation, rights, and representation remains central to achieving lasting solutions for people and the planet.

Throughout the second week of COP17, we continue to engage across side events, media activities, interviews, and policy discussions, working alongside Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, Afro-descendant Peoples, women, youth, and local communities to ensure their rights, leadership, and participation remain central to global land restoration efforts.

Meaningful participation is not optional. It is essential.

📍 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

🌍 UNCCD COP17






COP17CivilSocietyKeyMessages

08/28/2026

SOME CONVERSATIONS STAY WITH YOU LONG AFTER THE ROOM FALLS SILENT.

Reflecting on the discussions at UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, what stood out was not only the urgency of restoring our rangelands, but the deeper question of who gets to shape, finance and benefit from that restoration.

The conversations brought together different perspectives, but a common thread emerged: pastoralist communities cannot be separated from the landscapes they manage. Their knowledge, mobility, institutions and lived experience are critical assets in responding to climate change and restoring degraded rangelands.

We also reflected on the gap between global commitments and what reaches communities on the ground. How do we make climate finance more accessible? How do we move from consultation to genuine partnership? How do we ensure that land rights, community institutions, women and youth are part of the solution not afterthoughts?

These are not simple questions, but they are questions we must continue asking.

For MPIDO, the discussions reinforced an important principle: restoration is not only about bringing landscapes back to health; it is also about strengthening the people and systems that have sustained those landscapes for generations.

As the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 continues, the real measure of our conversations will be what happens beyond the conference rooms in the rangelands, in communities and in the decisions that shape their future.

Rights and Resources Initiative

08/27/2026

This is what a movement looks like when women lead ✊🏽

The Women in Global South Alliance (WiGSA) is a cross-continental solidarity network of women’s organizations, associations, and groups that represent thousands of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, pastoralist, and local community women from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Over the past four years, WiGSA has been collectively built from the ground up. Its members embody the voices and interconnected struggles of women and their communities seeking justice for tenure rights.

Videography: Laissa Malih and Frank Mudulia of Nomad Footprints Collective.

Video editing: Gabe Cowan

08/27/2026

This is what a movement looks like when women lead it. 🤝🏽✊🏽

The Women in Global South Alliance (WiGSA) is a cross-continental solidarity network of women’s organizations, associations and groups that represents thousands of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, pastoralists, and local community women from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Over the past four years, WiGSA has been collectively created, and its members embody the voices and interconnected struggles of women and their communities seeking justice for their tenure rights across continents.

Videography: Laissa Malih and Franklyne Mudulia of NOMAD Footprints KE

Video editing: Gabriel Cowan

08/25/2026

🌍 The Global Youth Network is a historic coalition uniting Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, local communities, and allied youth groups into a single global space for solidarity, shared learning, and collective action. 🤝🏽✊🏽

Launched following the first Global Youth Forum, the Network was created in response to a clear call from young leaders: the need for a space that connects youth across regions, strengthens collaboration, and amplifies community-rooted voices in global conversations. 📣🌱

The Network is helping build connections across Asia, Africa, and Latin America while advancing a shared vision for land rights, climate justice, human rights, and intergenerational leadership. 🌎⚖️

🔗 Learn more about the Network here:

https://rightsandresources.org/blog/global-youth-network-launches-to-unite-indigenous-afro-descendant-and-local-community-youth-across-continents/






aika Save My Future Foundation-SAMFU CLAN Network Kenya

08/23/2026

🌍 First week. Dozens of events. Countless conversations. One shared message: Rights matter.

At , we have come together to advance rights-based solutions for land restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods.

From Moving Rights Forward and securing pastoralist mobility and tenure rights, to challenging funding structures that too often fail to reach frontline communities, our coalition elevated the voices of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, local communities, women, youth, and Pastoralist and Mobile Peoples throughout the Conference.

Over the past week, we hosted powerful events, built new partnerships, celebrated cultural heritage, and advanced conversations on rights-based financing that puts communities at the center of restoration efforts.

Most importantly, UNCCD COP17 has reminded us that meaningful change starts with meaningful participation, and with recognizing that the people who have stewarded lands, forests, and rangelands for generations must be at the heart of decisions that shape their future.

Thank you to all our partners, delegates, community leaders, and allies who have shared their knowledge, stories, and leadership throughout COP17. The work continues, see you next week and beyond!

📸 Swipe through for some of our favorite moments from UNCCD COP17.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners - ILEPA
Steps Without Borders NGO / Хил хязгааргүй алхам төв ТББ
Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organization MPIDO.
Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal (FECOFUN)
International Land Coalition
IGAD Secretariat
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
United Nations Development Programme - UNDP

08/22/2026

Félicitations à notre collègue Alain Diouf !

Congratulations to RRI Fellow Alain Diouf on his appointment as Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Senegal 2050 National Transformation Agenda. This well-deserved recognition reflects more than three decades of leadership advancing land governance, sustainable development, and public policy across Senegal and beyond.

We are proud to count Alain among the RRI community and look forward to seeing his expertise continue to shape a more inclusive and equitable future.

Congratulations, Alain!

https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/202606150431.html

Par décret n° 2026-1143 du 5 juin 2026, le Président de la République, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, a nommé Alain Diouf, Ministre auprès du Président de la République, chargé du suivi et de l'évaluation de l'Agenda national de transformation « Sénégal 2050 ».

08/21/2026

🌎 In 2025, youth leaders from across Asia, Africa, and Latin America came together at the first Global Youth Forum, organized by RRI. ✊🏽

They shared experiences, identified common challenges, and developed a collective vision for the future. 💡🤝🏽

The result was something powerful: a shared commitment to strengthen youth leadership, solidarity, and action across regions. 🌱🌍

The Forum laid the foundation for a global journey that continues today. 🚀

Swipe to learn how the movement began. 👉🏽





aika CLAN Network Kenya Save My Future Foundation-SAMFU

08/21/2026

🌍 The future of land depends on the rights of the people who steward it.

At , Stephen Basele ( ) shares what the five key demands we’re bringing to the global conversation to put the rights, governance, mobility, participation, justice, and financing needs of Traditional Peoples at the center of land restoration.

From secure tenure and mobility rights to FPIC, due process, compensation, and direct, flexible funding, these calls are about ensuring that land restoration delivers for and with the Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, local communities, pastoralists, herders, and Mobile Peoples who have stewarded these landscapes for generations. 🌱🤝🏽

Follow RRI throughout as we share key conversations, events, stories, and moments from the conference.






YearOfRangelandsAndPastoralists
IYRP2026
COP17CivilSocietyKeyMessages