June 17, 2026,
The Near East and North Africa (NENA) International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) Consortium convened a regional webinar entitled “Harnessing Rangelands Management for Land Restoration, Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods in the Near East and North Africa” in observance of Desertification and Drought Day 2026 and the IYRP 2026.
Organized by the FAO Regional Office for the NENA, together with consortium partners including the OSS, (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas ICARDA), International Land Coalition (ILC), League of Arab States (LAS), Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the webinar brought together policymakers, researchers, development partners, pastoralist representatives and technical experts from across the region.
Held under the theme “Recognise, Respect, Restore”, the event highlighted the critical role of sustainable rangeland management in restoring degraded lands, strengthening drought resilience and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on rangelands across the NENA region.
A key milestone of the webinar was the official launch of the NENA IYRP Communiqué, presented by FAO. Developed through a participatory regional process, the communiqué outlines shared priorities and recommendations for advancing sustainable rangeland management and ensuring that pastoralist communities are better represented in regional and global policy processes, particularly in the lead-up to the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP17).
The webinar featured a keynote address by Dr. Mustafa Al-Shudiefat, Director of Programs at the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan, who underscored the importance of participatory governance and community engagement in rangeland restoration. Drawing on Jordan's experience, he demonstrated how sustainable management approaches can enhance ecosystem resilience, improve biodiversity and generate tangible socio-economic benefits for pastoral communities.
During the panel discussion, Mrs. Khaoula Jaoui, Technical Programme Coordinator and Director of the Climate Department at the OSS, emphasized that rangelands should no longer be considered a peripheral issue but rather a strategic entry point for aligning climate, biodiversity and land restoration agendas. She highlighted the role of regional cooperation, harmonized monitoring systems, and evidence-based decision-making in integrating rangelands into national and international policy frameworks.
Drawing on OSS's experience across Africa, Mrs. Jaoui presented several concrete examples demonstrating how sustainable rangeland management contributes to resilience and adaptation. These included the initiative “Enhancing the resilience of alfa grass ecosystems and local communities to the impacts of climate change in Central-West Tunisia », which combines governance reforms, ecosystem restoration and livelihood diversification; the DRESS-EA project, which strengthens drought resilience for pastoralists through early warning systems and climate adaptation measures; and the AdaptWAP project, which supports transboundary ecosystem management and climate adaptation across West Africa.
Based on these experiences, she called for four key priorities to be advanced at COP17: halting indiscriminate rangeland conversion, recognizing pastoral mobility as a legitimate adaptation strategy, investing in shared monitoring and data systems, and scaling up financing mechanisms capable of transforming successful pilot initiatives into large-scale investment portfolios.
The discussions also underscored the importance of securing land tenure, strengthening inclusive governance, promoting knowledge exchange, and ensuring that pastoralists' voices are fully reflected in decision-making processes.
As preparations for COP17 continue, the webinar reinforced a common regional message: healthy rangelands are essential for achieving land restoration objectives, enhancing drought resilience, conserving biodiversity and sustaining livelihoods. Through the NENA IYRP Communiqué, consortium partners aim to bring this message to the forefront of regional and global discussions and advocate for stronger commitments to sustainable rangeland management across the region.
International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 : In the road to UNCCD COP 17
From commitments to bancable projects: the OSS is mobilising the NENA and sub-Saharan African regions with the resources, knowledge, data and financial support necessary to prioritise the restoration of rangelands on the agenda of the COP17 in Mongolia.