India, Aug. 30 -- Rangelands, long sidelined in global policy, took centre stage at UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, where delegates launched a US$1.2 billion Rangelands Flagship Initiative and broader US$1.3 billion land restoration finance package.

Backed by new economic analysis valuing rangeland ecosystem services at up to US$47 trillion annually, the conference signalled a decisive shift from promises to implementation.

Rangelands - the vast grasslands, savannas, shrublands and pastures where livestock and wildlife thrive - cover more than half of our earth surface, and for the first time ever, a United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference put them at the very centre of the global land agenda.

When the 17th s...