India, Sept. 3 -- Two years ago in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was hailed as a historic turning point - dedicated caucuses for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities were created, formally recognising their right to participate in the convention's processes.

Yet, as COP17 concluded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, that hard-won progress stalled. Two years on, the caucuses that were meant to give those communities a formal seat at the table were never operationalised, leaving Indigenous Peoples and local communities without the standing they had been promised, and their agenda being postponed until COP18.

The setback is more than procedural...