Kristian Vigenin travels to Ulaanbaatar for a UN conference

Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin is travelling to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to take part in the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD COP17, and in the Global Academy for Parliamentarians, G-CAP. The conference runs from 17 to 28 August under the motto “Restoring land. Restoring hope”. It is expected to bring together delegations from the Convention’s 197 parties, along with representatives of governments, business, civil society and the scientific community, young people, indigenous peoples, pastoralist communities and smallholder farmers.

The Global Academy for Parliamentarians

Kristian Vigenin is one of 26 parliamentary representatives from 25 countries included in this year’s academy programme. The participants come from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Oceania, and Vigenin is the only Member of the European Parliament among them. He will also take part in the forum as a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety.

The Global Academy for Parliamentarians is a five-day leadership programme for a limited number of selected participants from around the world. It is organised by the G20 Global Land Initiative, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the UN System Staff College. Through exchanges between parliamentarians, practical working formats and participation in COP17 events, it aims to develop workable legislative and policy solutions to desertification, land degradation and drought.

Why the topic matters for Bulgaria

The conference topic is increasingly relevant to the economy and to security. According to the UN, degradation already affects up to 40% of the Earth’s land surface, with consequences for food production, water availability, the livelihoods of millions of people and economic stability. Land restoration is seen not only as an environmental task, but also as a way to reduce poverty, forced displacement and competition for increasingly scarce natural resources. The choice of Mongolia as host is also telling: almost 77% of the country’s territory is affected by degradation.

“For Bulgaria, this is not a distant or abstract environmental topic. The state of our soils, water management and the resilience of agriculture are directly linked to people’s incomes, food prices and the future of rural areas. The European Union must move from reacting after the next crisis hits to prevention, better drought preparedness and investment in land restoration. Parliaments are responsible for turning international commitments into laws, budgets and real oversight. I will use my participation in Ulaanbaatar to present the European perspective, but also to look for solutions that can be applied in Bulgaria,” Kristian Vigenin said.

The COP17 programme

COP17 will include ministerial dialogues and thematic days on finance, water, the link between land and people, food systems and soil health. There will also be discussions on security and migration, sand and dust storms, rangelands and pastoralist communities, and the participation of young people and indigenous peoples.

The academy programme includes training and working sessions on land restoration, food security, the link between land and water, biodiversity and land governance legislation. Vigenin will also take part in a high-level forum on the role of parliaments, which will discuss concrete action through legislation, budget decisions, parliamentary oversight and representation. The programme also includes a round table on the interaction between the three Rio conventions and a visit to Hustai National Park, an internationally recognised example of ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation.