At the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the "2026 High-Level Sustainable Finance Forum" was held in Ulaanbaatar. During this forum, Valerie Hickey, Global Director for Environment at the World Bank, delivered a keynote speech urging the world to rethink the logic of investment and financing in nature, land, and water resources. She emphasized the need to focus not only on the volume of capital but also on the quality of that capital, while genuinely scaling up financing efforts.

Hickey pointed out that global financing needs for land restoration are approximately $1 billion per day, yet the world spends about $2 billion daily on agricultural subsidies—subsidies that paradoxically exacerbate land degradation. "Of that $2 billion, less than 50 cents actually reaches the pockets of farmers; for every dollar spent, the economic output is less than 35 cents," she stressed. The core issue is not about spending more money, but about spending the money already being spent more effectively. "We need to think not only about sustainable finance but also about how to scale it up," she said. "We don't want finance in this sector to be merely stable and sustainable; we want it to grow."

Addressing how to expand financing, Hickey raised three central questions: How much money is needed? Where will the money come from? And what changes are required? She cautioned that the $1 billion daily figure cited by the UNCCD is merely an estimate, noting that "there is no single global price. Technological advances lower costs, but external events can increase them." Rather than dwelling excessively on the numbers themselves, Hickey advocated focusing on specific opportunities at particular locations, because finance originates from concrete transactions.

She emphasized that investing in nature, land, and water is not a "cost" but an "investment," noting that every million dollars invested in nature creates 380 jobs, whereas the same amount of investment in manufacturing generates only 61 jobs and in the financial sector just 31 jobs. The global timber and wood products market is growing at a compound annual rate of 5%, and by 2028 it is expected to become a trillion-dollar global market. "Investing in land, nature, and water can indeed generate real returns," she stated.

Regarding funding sources, Hickey made it clear that most financing will not come from multilateral development banks or official development assistance, but rather from domestic resources, including government funds and local capital markets. She noted that local capital flows into land, water, and nature sectors are currently insufficient due to three key market failures: first, nature-based business opportunities are undervalued while their risks are overestimated; second, water, like electricity, serves as essential infrastructure but lacks pricing until macro shocks—such as droughts—occur, citing the recent example of Germany's Rhine River where low water levels reduced barge capacity to one-third of normal, causing billions of dollars in economic losses; and third, there is a lack of cost-competitive alternative technologies to address poor business practices.

Hickey called for sustainable finance to shift its focus from the quantity of capital to the quality of capital, particularly emphasizing impact and accessibility. She proposed the need for "AAA-rated" data that not only accurately reflects what works and what doesn't within financial reporting timeframes (quarterly) but also allows everyone to access, compare, and understand it. She also stressed the importance of building a pipeline of credible project developers, particularly supporting family businesses at the micro and small scale, and helping herders establish credit histories and track records to gain access to financing.

Hickey further called for creating the right policy environment, which includes not only green finance taxonomies and appropriate tax policies but also addressing land ownership issues. She pointed out that although 164 countries recognize women's rights to own land, only 52 countries guarantee these rights in both law and practice. Meanwhile, three-quarters of women are increasingly staying on the land as men leave, yet they lack the rights and collateral to utilize that land. "We need a policy environment that ensures we can mobilize and scale up financing," she concluded.

The "2026 High-Level Sustainable Finance Forum," spanning two days, is one of the official side events of UNCCD COP17, co-hosted by the Office of the President of Mongolia, the World Bank Group, and the UNCCD. The forum aims to strengthen the linkage between policy and the financial sector, increasing investment in sustainable land and water management as well as nature conservation.