Presidential Aide, Special Presidential Representative for Climate and Water Resources Ruslan Edelgeriyev held the First Forum of Best Practices for Combatting Desertification and Land Degradation ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in countries suffering from severe drought and/or desertification, particularly across Africa.
Held between August 5 and 7, 2026, the event was timed to coincide with the 75th birthday of the First President of Chechnya, Hero of Russia Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov.
Representatives of federal and regional government institutions, the Russian Academy of Sciences, leading universities and research centres, environmental protection organisations and Russian companies took part in the forum. Participants discussed technology and reviewed performance in combating desertification and land degradation, restoring soil fertility and ecosystems, promoting protective afforestation and sustainable land use. The event included presentations of Russian solutions in satellite and geoinformation monitoring, spatial analytics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and nature-like technology in soil rehabilitation. The opening ceremony included a tree-planting event, which took place with the support of the UN Global Compact National Network.
The forum served as a venue for signing several cooperation agreements between Kadyrov Chechen State University and the Nature and People Foundation, the UN Global Compact National Network, and the Federal Research Centre for Agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. These agreements provide for undertaking joint research projects, educational programmes, exchanging scientific data and practices, as well as carrying out projects to monitor and prevent degradation and promote soil rehabilitation.
The forum produced proposals on replicating the most effective homegrown strategies and promoting closer interagency and scientific ties. Practices presented at the forum are expected to be used to define Russia’s position for the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
The outcomes of the first forum paved the way for the decision to continue holding events of this kind at Kadyrov Chechen State University, while also establishing a permanent platform for sharing best Russian practices in environmental protection and fighting climate change not only with Russian experts, but also with the international community.