The Silk Road Caravan has reached the 6,000-kilometre milestone in northern China exactly one month before the opening of the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), which will take place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August 2026.
Launched on 6 May 2026 in Erzurum, Türkiye, the Caravan is symbolically linking UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh with COP17 in Ulaanbaatar in support of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026. Since the beginning of its journey, it has travelled through the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and most recently entered China.
The expedition brings together pastoralists, researchers, UNCCD Goodwill Ambassadors, and Sport4Land champions to exchange knowledge on restoring degraded rangelands while supporting sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
Throughout the journey, the Caravan has showcased practical land restoration solutions ranging from dune stabilization and sustainable grazing management to the production of value-added livestock products. A central focus has been demonstrating how environmental restoration can go hand in hand with economic development in rural areas.
The journey has highlighted successful restoration approaches across Eurasia. In China, restoration combines dune stabilization techniques with long-term monitoring of restored landscapes. In Türkiye, seasonal pastoral mobility supports both land recovery and rural livelihoods. In Kalmykia (Russian Federation), hardy shrubs are being used to stabilize shifting sands and restore productive pastures. In Uzbekistan, drought-tolerant pistachio plantations on degraded land are creating long-term economic opportunities for local communities. In Kazakhstan, soil science, satellite monitoring, and digital agricultural technologies are improving rangeland management and enabling the early detection of land degradation. In Kyrgyzstan, restoration efforts emphasize traditional pastoral knowledge, youth engagement, women's participation, and resilient rural livelihoods.
The knowledge and experiences gathered throughout the Caravan's journey will contribute to discussions at UNCCD COP17. The Caravan's key message is that the most effective land restoration initiatives are those that simultaneously restore ecosystems, strengthen livelihoods, build resilience, and create long-term economic opportunities for local communities.
📌 Source: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
