Nairobi, Aug. 24 -- Financing land restoration and drought resilience took centre stage on Monday as ministers, development partners, investors, businesses and civil society gathered at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17 for Finance Day.

The discussions produced $1.3 billion in new and pipeline finance for land restoration and drought resilience across 23 countries. Of this, $644.5 million is new finance, with $216.4 million already confirmed and moving towards implementation.

For Africa, participants stressed that closing the financing gap must also mean changing how restoration investments are designed and who can access them.

Dr Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes for Africa at the World Resources Insti...