Ulaanbaatar: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today announced the launch of the Financing Investments and Eradicating Land Degradation and Desertification (FIELD) Initiative, a collaborative effort aimed at securing at least $2 billion by 2035. This initiative seeks to fund programs dedicated to restoring lands and enhancing drought resilience across Asia and the Pacific.
According to Asian Development Bank, the FIELD Initiative was introduced 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 is designed to assist countries in designing, financing, and executing land restoration projects. The initiative will employ innovative financial strategies such as derisking structures, blended finance, and capital market instruments to stimulate private capital investment in these efforts.
The initiative responds to the escalating challenges of drought, soil erosion, and unsustainable land use, which are deteriorating dryland ecosystems that support over 40% of the region's population. This degradation poses significant threats to agricultural production, biodiversity, and resilience. The initiative aims to sustainably manage about 1 million hectares of land by 2035, thereby reducing degradation and bolstering food and water security. It will also offer grants and technical assistance to ADB's developing member countries, aiding them in policy development on sustainable capacity building and knowledge platform establishment.
FIELD operates under the Nature Solutions Finance Hub, an ADB-led platform designed to scale nature-positive investments in the region, in collaboration with financial and technical partners. It aligns with ADB's Environment Action Plan and its $40 billion commitment by 2030 to transform food systems in Asia and the Pacific.
FIELD also contributes to the Riyadh Action Agenda, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia during the UNCCD COP16 Presidency, to mobilize state and non-state actors in support of land restoration and drought resilience. The launch of FIELD coincides with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists and the Global Rangelands Flagship Initiative, led by Mongolia and the UNCCD.
UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad emphasized that the Global Rangelands Flagship Initiative is about transitioning from recognition to large-scale implementation. ADB's leadership through FIELD is seen as a crucial step in creating investment pathways, linking restoration priorities with finance, projects, and ground-level delivery. This approach aims to convert ambition into actionable investment for landscapes that are essential to livelihoods, food systems, and resilient economies.
Initial collaborators expressing interest in the FIELD Initiative include the UNCCD, the Qatar Fund for Development, and the Middle East Green Initiative. Collaborators from the Nature Solutions Finance Hub, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Union, the OPEC Fund for International Development, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), are also part of this collaborative effort.
ADB, established in 1966 and owned by 69 members, is a prominent multilateral development bank committed to promoting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific. It collaborates with its members and partners to address complex challenges, utilizing innovative financial tools and strategic partnerships to transform lives, construct quality infrastructure, and protect the planet.