Williams calls for greater financing to tackle drought, land degradation at UNCCD COP17

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government Delroy Williams is calling for increased financing and stronger action to address drought, land degradation, water security and other environmental challenges affecting small island developing states such as Jamaica. Williams represented Jamaica at the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from August 17 to 28, 2026. He said Jamaica’s participation in the convention was critical, given the growing impact of drought, land degradation and water insecurity on the country.

“It's important for Jamaica to be a part of this convention. The issues that are being discussed here are issues that are affecting Jamaica at this current time,” Williams said. He pointed to several areas requiring urgent attention, including land degradation, drought, sustainable agriculture, land restoration and water security.

Williams said, however, that the focus must now shift from discussions to implementation, noting that adequate financing will be essential to turning commitments into tangible projects. “The issue is that implementation requires financing and so if you're going to move to implementation, then you have to secure the financing for that implementation. And the focus has also been on strengthening the financial mechanisms, introducing creative and innovative financing mechanisms such as drift and others,” Williams added.

He noted that discussions at the convention have also focused on strengthening existing financial mechanisms and developing creative and innovative approaches to mobilising funding for environmental and climate-related projects. Williams stressed that significant investment will be needed to advance transformative initiatives in water security, agricultural sustainability and land restoration. “There is one financial mechanism that combines concessional and public capital and private capital to bridge the financing gaps for transformational projects.

So we have benefited from it because we have seen where the focus is really on getting action on the ground, getting to the implementation phase and providing and finding creative ways of providing financing for those projects. And for us as a small island developing state, access to financing is also critica…