India Launches First-Ever Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems at UNCCD COP17, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

On 17 August 2026, India unveiled its first Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs) at the UNCCD COP‑17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The guide, prepared under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, documents the geographical settings, ecological traits, biodiversity, and associated communities of India’s grasslands, savannas, deserts, scrublands and related ecosystems. It highlights their role in carbon sequestration, soil‑water processes, and livelihoods of pastoral and agricultural communities, and links their restoration to India’s Land Degradation Neutrality targets. The launch, organized with ATREE, IUCN, ICFRE, ISRO‑SAC and other partners, emphasized science‑based conservation and the need to integrate ONEs into mainstream land‑degradation and climate‑resilience policies.