New IIASA–UNCCD report, Prospects for Carbon Farming in Greater Central Asia, launched at UNCCD COP17

22 August 2026 | Hybrid

The COP17 side event, Restoring Land, Securing Futures: Carbon Farming in Greater Central Asia, brought together policymakers, scientists, financial institutions and practitioners to discuss how carbon farming could support land restoration and resilient rural development. The report assesses opportunities, constraints and enabling conditions in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The work also benefited from contributions by the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Center at HSE University and national experts from across the region.

Opening the event, H.E. Munkhtamir Batbayar, Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Mongolia, highlighted the particular importance of carbon farming for rangelands and pastoral communities. With Mongolia hosting COP17 during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the event offered an opportunity to place rangelands at the centre of action. „For Mongolia, carbon farming could help connect rangeland restoration with climate finance and sustainable livestock value chains while strengthening resilience to drought and dzud.“, according to the Deputy Minister.

This focus on the land itself remained central throughout the event. Olga Andreeva, Programme Officer for Scientific Affairs in UNCCD’s STI Unit, emphasized that land management decisions need to consider more than carbon storage. Carbon finance can support healthier ecosystems, restored landscapes, and stronger rural livelihoods. It can help catalyze change, alongside other sources of financing for the transition.

Presenting the report’s findings, Michael Obersteiner of the University of Oxford and IIASA translated this principle into a pathway for implementation. Integrated programmes at the landscape scale, supported by evidence, finance, institutional coordination, and local capacity, would offer countries a practical way to turn ambition into action. The report sets out these priorities in its SCALE agenda: strengthen evidence, chart pathways, advance finance, link agendas, and enhance capacity.

The conversation also addressed practical delivery. Alexey Ivanov of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Center at HSE University argued that national initiatives could achieve more through closer regional cooperation. Mandakh Nyamtseren, independent consultant, connected this ambition to the need for credible monitoring systems adapted to mountainous rangelands, mobile pastoralism, and dryland agriculture. Goulnara Aguiar of ORMEX, a carbon standard for regenerative agriculture, added a market perspective, emphasizing the importance of developing domestic demand and financing rather than viewing international credit sales as the only route forward.

Finance emerged as the bridge between credible ideas and action on the ground. Oyun Sanjaasuren of the Green Climate Fund described how grants and concessional resources could strengthen institutions, prepare projects, and reduce risks for private investors. Jahan Shamsiev of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reinforced the point: without blended finance, sound governance, credible monitoring, and sufficient scale, land-restoration projects will struggle to attract commercial investment.

Potential applications showed how these elements could come together. Rakhim Oshakbayev of Kazakhstan’s TALAP Center proposed exploring the former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site as a carbon and land-restoration testing ground, turning a landscape associated with destruction into one of renewal. Experience shared by Mohamed Yousif of Egypt’s Desert Research Center demonstrated how saline soils, degraded rangelands, and scarce water can be addressed through science and practical restoration. Vivek Saxena, formerly with IUCN and the Government of Haryana, India, extended the discussion to cooperation on dryland monitoring, knowledge exchange, and safeguards for land users.

In closing, Elena Rovenskaya, Michael Obersteiner, and Pradeep Monga of IIASA brought these threads together. Moving from promising pilots to lasting change will require partnerships across science, policy, finance, and implementation - and a clear view of what success means. Carbon credits may help initiate the transition, but their true value will be measured by what remains: healthier land, more resilient ecosystems, and stronger rural livelihoods.

Further information

• Advance copy of the joint report
• Executive summary
• Event recording (Passcode: 4x=QB^m)
• Event photographs (Filter MET01, 22.08.2026)
• Event presentations
• Eurasia Carbon
• CAMEA project