India, Aug. 14 -- Droughts in Africa and Asia, wildfires in Europe, and harvest failures for farmers across the world have intensified this year, even as the 2026-27 El Nino, forecast to be the strongest such event on record, is only just beginning to peak.

It is against this backdrop that delegates from over 200 countries are meeting from August 17 to August 28 in Ulaanbaatar for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - the global treaty for halting land degradation before it costs them their ability to grow food or raise livestock.

The year 2026 is already tracking as one of the hottest years globally, driven by intense heatwaves and causing severe regional drought...