UNCCD COP17, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — 27 August 2026 —The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) and TESO Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Ulaanbaatar on 27 August 2026, establishing a framework for cooperation on urban greening and tree planting in Mongolia. The signing took place at “Restoring Land, Returning Value: Mobilising Investment for Forest Landscape Restoration across Asia,” a side event of UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, co-organized by AFoCO and the Business Council of Mongolia (BCM) under the UNCCD Business4Land (B4L) initiative. The event brought together government, business, and financial partners — including the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Mongolia, EIB, Yuhan Corporation, Oyu Tolgoi LLC and Boreal Company Holdings — to discuss how private-sector commitments can be translated into practical restoration on the ground. AFoCO also signed an MoU with BCM at the same ceremony.
The MOU was signed by Dr. Chongho Park, Executive Director of AFoCO, and Ms. Bolor Sainjargal, CEO of TESO Group. The partnership supports Mongolia’s national afforestation goals and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under the MOU, the Parties will develop joint programmes on forest conservation and restoration, forest carbon sequestration, community livelihoods, and urban green space, alongside related capacity building.
(From left) Dr. Chongho Park, Executive Director of AFoCO; Ms. Bolor Sainjargal, CEO of TESO Group
Cooperation will also promote public-private partnership activities aligned with TESO Group’s corporate social responsibility and ESG objectives, engage private sector partners including those of the Republic of Korea through the Friends of Asia and Asian Forests (FAAF) platform of AFoCO, and share knowledge on urban forestry, native species selection, and sustainable forest management.
TESO Group, established in 2003, is one of Mongolia’s leading business groups, operating across food production and trade, construction and real estate development, and investment. The MOU will remain in force for three years and may be extended by mutual written agreement of the Parties.
Beyond the MoU, TESO has also contributed its products to CAMP (Climate Action Matching Platform), the tree-planting and restoration platform operated by AFoCO in collaboration with the Billion Tree Fund (BTF). This support is warmly appreciated and demonstrates how Mongolian businesses can back restoration in concrete, tangible ways.
Both organizations look forward to a long and productive cooperation for greener, more resilient landscapes in Mongolia.
Contributed by Dr. Hannah Suh (Program Officer)