France, Aug. 17 -- The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (Cop17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) runs in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August, under the theme "Restoring Land. Restoring Hope."

Less well known than the UN's climate and biodiversity conferences, the bi-annual talks on desertification have taken on far greater importance in the wake of recent heatwaves and wildfires in the northern hemisphere, Europe and Asia.

North America, Africa, and Asia all experienced their hottest July on record, according to Nasa.

At the summit in Mongolia, 196 countries plus the European Union will discuss the "operationalisation" of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, set up dur...