ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, 24th August, 2026 (WAM) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today launched together with partners the Financing Investments and Eradicating Land Degradation and Desertification (FIELD) Initiative, a regional partnership to attract at least $2 billion by 2035 to invest in programmes that restore lands and strengthen drought resilience across Asia and the Pacific.
“Land degradation and desertification is a critical threat to ecosystems that sustain millions of rural communities and underpin economic growth in our region—a challenge that no one country can tackle alone,” said ADB Vice-President for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Scott Morris. “By working with partners and scaling innovative investments in healthy and productive landscapes, ADB will lead efforts to conserve biodiversity, improve livelihoods, and ensure food and water security for all.”
FIELD was announced 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 will help countries design, access finance, and implement land restoration projects, and include innovative finance approaches such as derisking structures, blended finance, and capital market instruments to catalyze private capital. An initial pipeline of projects on land and forest restoration, as well as river–basin and water management has been identified.
Worsening drought, soil erosion, and unsustainable land use are degrading dryland ecosystems that support more than 40% of the region’s population, threatening agricultural production, biodiversity, and resilience. An already large gap in financing for sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems is widening, particularly for rangelands which cover 54% of the world’s land surface and store up to 30% of global soil carbon.
The initiative aims to bring about 1 million hectares of land under sustainable management by 2035 to reduce degradation and strengthen food and water security. It will also provide grants and technical assistance to help ADB’s developing member countries develop policies on sustainable capacity development and establish a knowledge platform.
FIELD is a dedicated land restoration and drought resilience window under the Nature Solutions Finance Hub, an ADB-led platform to scale nature-positive investment in Asia and the Pacific, together with financial and technical partners. The initiative aligns with ADB’s Environment Action Plan and $40 billion commitment by 2030 to transform food systems across the region.