The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has unveiled a major regional partnership aiming to mobilize at least $2 billion by 2035 to combat land degradation and desertification across Asia and the Pacific.
Launched alongside global partners at the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the Financing Investments and Eradicating Land Degradation and Desertification (FIELD) Initiative is designed to accelerate land restoration and enhance drought resilience. The initiative will assist developing member states in designing and financing sustainable land management projects, utilising blended finance, risk-mitigation structures, and capital market instruments to unlock private investment. Initial focus areas include river-basin protection, forest restoration, and water management.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, ADB Vice-President for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Scott Morris noted: “Land degradation and desertification is a critical threat to ecosystems that sustain millions of rural communities and underpin economic growth in our region—a challenge that no one country can tackle alone. By working with partners and scaling innovative investments in healthy and productive landscapes, ADB will lead efforts to conserve biodiversity, improve livelihoods, and ensure food and water security for all.”
Degradation, soil erosion, and changing climate patterns currently imperil dryland ecosystems supporting over 40 per cent of the regional population. Rangelands, which represent 54 per cent of global land area and store nearly a third of global soil carbon, face a widening investment shortfall. The FIELD initiative targets bringing approximately one million hectares under sustainable management by 2035, helping to secure food and water systems whilst delivering technical assistance and grant funding to establish local policy frameworks.
Welcoming the mechanism, UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad stated: “The Global Rangelands Flagship Initiative is about moving from recognition to implementation at scale. ADB’s leadership through FIELD helps build the investment pathway we need, connecting restoration priorities with finance, projects and delivery on the ground. This is how we turn ambition into investable action for landscapes that are vital to livelihoods, food systems, and resilient economies.”
Operating as a dedicated window under the ADB-led Nature Solutions Finance Hub, the program supports the institution’s broader $40 billion commitment to transform regional food systems by 2030. It also aligns with the UNCCD COP16 Riyadh Action Agenda and coincides with the Global Rangelands Flagship Initiative co-led by Mongolia. Early collaborators expressing support for the framework include the UNCCD, the Qatar Fund for Development, the Middle East Green Initiative, the European Union, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
