Ulaanbaatar, August 24 (AseanAll) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 24 August 2026 launched together with partners the Financing Investments and Eradicating Land Degradation and Desertification (FIELD) Initiative, a regional partnership to attract at least $2 billion by 2035 to invest in programs that restore lands and strengthen drought resilience across Asia and the Pacific.
“Land degradation and desertification is a critical threat to ecosystems that sustain millions of rural communities and underpin economic growth in our region—a challenge that no one country can tackle alone,” said ADB Vice-President for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Scott Morris. “By working with partners and scaling innovative investments in healthy and productive landscapes, ADB will lead efforts to conserve biodiversity, improve livelihoods, and ensure food and water security for all.”
FIELD was announced during a ministerial dialogue at the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It will help countries design, access finance, and implement land restoration projects, and include innovative finance approaches such as derisking structures, blended finance, and capital market instruments to catalyze private capital. An initial pipeline of projects on land and forest restoration, as well as river–basin and water management has been identified.
Worsening drought, soil erosion, and unsustainable land use are degrading dryland ecosystems that support more than 40% of the region’s population, threatening agricultural production, biodiversity, and resilience. An already large gap in financing for sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems is widening, particularly for rangelands which cover 54% of the world’s land surface and store up to 30% of global soil carbon.
The initiative aims to bring about 1 million hectares of land under sustainable management by 2035 to reduce degradation and strengthen food and water security. It will also provide grants and technical assistance to help ADB’s developing member countries develop policies on sustainable capacity development and establish a knowledge platform.
FIELD is a dedicated land restoration and drought resilience window under the Nature Solutions Finance Hub, an ADB-led platform to scale nature-positive investment in Asia and the Pacific, together with financial and technical partners. The initiative aligns with ADB’s Environment Action Plan and $40 billion commitment by 2030 to transform food systems across the region.
FIELD contributes to the Riyadh Action Agenda, led by Saudi Arabia as the UNCCD COP16 Presidency, to mobilize state and non-state actors behind land restoration and drought resilience. Its launch coincides with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists and the Global Rangelands Flagship Initiative, led by Mongolia and the UNCCD.
“The Global Rangelands Flagship Initiative is about moving from recognition to implementation at scale,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad. “ADB’s leadership through FIELD helps build the investment pathway we need, connecting restoration priorities with finance, projects and delivery on the ground. This is how we turn ambition into investable action for landscapes that are vital to livelihoods, food systems, and resilient economies.”
Partners that have expressed initial interest in collaborating under the FIELD Initiative include the UNCCD, the Qatar Fund for Development, and the Middle East Green Initiative. Existing partners of the Nature Solutions Finance Hub, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Union, the OPEC Fund for International Development, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), are also part of the collaboration.
ADB is a leading multilateral development bank supporting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific. Working with its members and partners to solve complex challenges together, ADB harnesses innovative financial tools and strategic partnerships to transform lives, build quality infrastructure, and safeguard our planet. Founded in 1966, ADB is owned by 69 members—50 from the region.
