We are proud to announce our role as founding partner in the 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People initiative. In this initiative, convened by EcoAgriculture Partners, we are joining forces with dozens of organizations worldwide to link currently fragmented efforts, build capacities, and unlock investment finance that will enable landscape partnerships everywhere to achieve their regenerative landscape and livelihood ambitions more quickly, effectively and at scale.
Village in the Altiplano Estepario, Spain, surrounded by olive orchards and mountains. Photo: Erica ten Broeke.
As the pivotal ‘Decade of Action’ for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gets underway, around the world hundreds of landscape partnerships are forging holistic strategies to meet the SDGs— integrating action for food, water and health security, sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, climate action, and the transition to inclusive green economies. These partnerships form around watersheds, bioregions, jurisdictions or city-regions, to align the actions of all stakeholders who depend upon and impact landscape resources, including farmers, local and indigenous communities, social and environmental NGOs, local governments and business enterprises. However, efforts to advance ‘integrated landscape management’ approaches remain fragmented and under-resourced. The challenge is how to unlock the transformative potential of inclusive landscape partnerships and to scale their impact.
1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People is convened by EcoAgriculture Partners, a non-profit that has worked since 2002 to advance ideas, practices and policies for integrated landscape management. Next to Commonland, other founding partners are Rainforest Alliance, the WWF Landscape Finance Lab, the United Nations Development Programme and Tech Matters. Another 25 organizations have joined as technical partners to help accelerate 1000 Landscapes.
Poplars in Autumn nearby Cullar, Spain. Photo: Erica ten Broeke.
This initiative will develop innovative tools to accelerate action and impact on the ground across at least a 1000 landscapes, which is fully aligned with our long-term strategy to help 1000 landscapes to achieve large scale 4 returns landscape restoration. We will do so through supporting landscape partnerships and through providing practitioners and professionals with knowledge, expert advice, tools, communities, networks and training through an open access, digital platform and a variety of other means. We are now in the midst of the design phase and work in parallel teams to deliver our first prototypes around summer.
It is really inspiring and challenging to be part of the core group of “1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People”. Being part of this team with like-minded professionals provides us with a unique opportunity for radical collaboration with organizations who share our ambition to contribute to the creation of 100 million hectares of thriving ecosystems and communities by 2040. A lot of work still needs to be done, but it is very rewarding already!Simon Moolenaar, Director Knowledge, Education, and Innovation
Financial support and collaboration for the design phase have been generously provided by the IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Sall Family Foundation, the Hitz Family Foundation, the Cariplo Foundation, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, the IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands, the Mulago Foundation and Climate-KIC.
Our goal is to massively revitalize large ecosystems or landscapes, with a long-term holistic approach enabling local on-the-ground actions of farmers, entrepreneurs, indigenous people, and public and private landowners to bring hope, jobs, trees and biodiversity, while creating sustainable financial returns.Willem Ferwerda, CEO Commonland
More information on the plans, activities, and partners of the initiative can be found on the full blog on the website of EcoAgriculture Partners. To connect about our role in the initiative, please contact Simon Moolenaar, Director Knowledge, Education & Innovation: simon.moolenaar@commonland.com.