India, Aug. 21 -- Three days into the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), a fight over who gets a seat at the table is still shadowing the summit, with civil society organisations, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists and youth groups continuing to press governments to restore agenda items dropped at the opening plenary.

COP17 opened August 17, 2026 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia under the banner 'Restoring Land, Restoring Hope' with Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Uchral urging delegates to move past declarations toward implementation.

UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad struck the same note, repeatedly calling this summit the "COP of implementation". That framing is...