From Data to Decision: Making Reporting a Driver of Restoration and Hope for Territories

Ulaanbaatar, 18 August 2026 — UNCCD COP17

On the occasion of the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Sahara and Sahel Observatory organized the Side Event “From Data to Hope: Country-Led UNCCD Reporting for Restored Landscapes.”

Bringing together around 60 participants, including representatives from Cabo Verde, Lesotho, Egypt and WOCAT, the event highlighted a key challenge: turning reporting from a mere institutional obligation into a genuine tool for decision-making, planning and mobilizing investment for land restoration.

From Reporting to Decision-Making

As a regional technical support hub for the UNCCD 2026 reporting cycle, the OSS is supporting more than 20 countries in the use of geospatial data, quality control, validation and consolidation of national information.

This support aims to strengthen national capacities and transform the data collected into reliable, comparable and actionable information to inform decision-making.

Innovative Tools for Monitoring Landscapes

The discussions highlighted several key levers for improving land monitoring: open data platforms, geospatial technologies and Earth Observation, artificial intelligence for data quality control and consistency checks, as well as the integration of national and local knowledge.

The experiences shared underscored the need for systems that can both monitor land degradation and document the outcomes and impacts of restoration efforts.

From Data to Action for Restoring Landscapes

By connecting geospatial data, national monitoring systems and UNCCD reporting mechanisms, countries can better identify priority areas, guide investments, measure impacts and showcase results to their partners.

The challenge is therefore to build a continuous chain — from data to information, from knowledge to decision-making, and from decision-making to action.

This approach echoes the message of COP17, “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope,” and reflects the OSS’s ambition to make data and monitoring tools genuine instruments for planning, investment and sustainable land restoration.

An operational African experience led by the OSS demonstrates that restoring hope is not merely an aspiration, but can be grounded in measurable, reliable data and evidence-based expertise.