Life pends on land, and so does the economy. When land loses productivity, the damage does not stop at the farm gate. It affects food production, livestock, water availability, incomes, supply chains and public finances.
Yet land degradation and desertification are still often discussed simply as environmental concerns, rather than economic risks.
That is the bigger question emerging from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where the 17th session of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) opened on August 17 under the theme ‘Restoring Land. Restoring Hope’.
The two-week summit brings together governments, business, finance, scientists and communities to advance action on land restoration and drought resilience. The second week is particularly important because the Riyadh-Ulaanbaatar Action Agenda is designed to connect political commitments with practical solutions through four thematic days.
On August 24, Finance Day will ask the question that determines if ambitious restoration plans become reality. Focus is on mobilising public and private finance, integrating land into investment decisions and creating opportunities for large-scale restoration.
Restoration cannot depend indefinitely on development aid and government budgets. Healthy landscapes must increasingly be treated as economic infrastructure capable of attracting investment.
August 25 is Water Day, shifting attention to drought as a risk that can be managed rather than a disaster to be mourned. Discussions will examine how healthier soils, vegetation and landscapes can retain water, reduce erosion and strengthen drought resilience.
Then comes Land and People Day on August 26. Here, the conversation must recognise the people who understand these landscapes.
Pastoralists and local communities should not merely be beneficiaries of restoration programmes. Their knowledge, institutions and experience must help shape them.
For Kenya, this is an opportunity to demonstrate that rangelands are productive natural assets.
Finally, August 27 is Food Systems and Soil Health Day. It returns the conversation to its foundation: soil. Food systems cannot be resilient when land is losing its fertility. The day will examine investment, innovation and measurable approaches to improving soil health.
Kenya should approach these discussions as a country with a compelling economic proposition. Investing in restoration can protect agricultural productivity, strengthen livestock systems, secure water, create rural enterprises and reduce the economic shocks associated with drought.
The business case is, therefore, straightforward: restoring land is not an environmental expense. It is an investment in Kenya’s productive capacity.
Restoring land means restoring hope. Because all life depends on land, Kenya’s future depends on getting this right.