They provide food, water, clean air, a stable climate, biodiversity, good health, security and happiness. However, one-fourth of the world’s land mass is seriously degraded from centuries of human activity.
Think: deforestation, overgrazing, overexploitation, the building of infrastructure and pollution. In economic terms, this incurs an estimated loss of more than USD 4.3 trillion per year. The good news is that this process can be reversed.
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2,5 million EURO to large-scale ecosystem restoration. We are proud and grateful to the Nationale Postcodeloterij (Dutch National Postcode Lottery) to be their new beneficiary. Read more
Enable Consortium launches open, online course on landscape restoration. Read more
Read here our most recent Newsflash. Read more
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Our holistic restoration approach combines and connects 3 different landscape zones, for a period of 20 years, delivering 4 returns.
Giving people hope
and a sense of purpose.
Bringing back jobs, business
activity, education and security.
Restoring biodiversity,
soil and water quality.
Realizing long-term
sustainable profit.
Worldwide, degraded landscapes have led to the loss of biodiversity, productivity, jobs, food security, and social stability. These losses can be reversed, however, by restoring degraded landscapes – at scale – through economically viable solutions.
4 Returns Partners creates market-based solutions for landscape restoration, from idea to realization. Based on the 4 returns philosophy developed by Commonland, our aim is to unite the restoration of landscapes with the economic and social revitalization of communities.
To effectively support our partners with realizing landscape restoration, we offer a combination of advisory services:
Commonland works in close cooperation with internationally leading organizations.
In this library you will find a selection of publications and videos that give an introduction to landscape restoration. In addition, it also provides an overview of expert libraries that have compiled a large collection of articles, country reports, maps, books, guidelines and videos related to landscape restoration.
Article in Dutch newspaper October 2016
Willem Ferwerda heads Dutch sustainable 100 listSustainable 100 interview in Dutch newspaper October 2016
Interview with nature restorer Willem FerwerdaA holistic framework for ecological restoration by people and business for next generations
4 returns, 3 zones, 20 yearsBiodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development
Dead planet, living planetCan we live within the doughnut?
A safe and just space for humanityRestoration ecology: time to roll up our sleeves
Ecosystem restoration is now a global priorityChanges in the global value of ecosystem services
Changes in global value of ecosystemsProsperous lands and positive rewards through sustainable land management
The value of landAchieving sustainable development through integrated landscape managment
The little sustainable landscapes bookPublic engagement and temporal and spatial scale in a complex social-ecological system
The role of trust in restoration successA global assessment for sustainable development
Economics of land degradation and improvementSustainable land management: A business opportunity
ELD initiative: Report for the private sectorConnecting Ecosystems, Value Chains and Consumers
New Horizons for the Transitioning of our Food SystemEnvironmental film maker John D. Liu documents large-scale ecosystem restoration projects.
VPRO Backlight Green Gold 1Ecologist Willem Ferwerda explains how the planet, the environment, and the economy can be restored on the basis of 4 returns.
VPRO Backlight Green Gold 2 - TeaserEnvironmental film maker John D. Liu demonstrates that it is possible to rehabilitate large-scale damaged ecosystems.
Hope in a changing climate - TrailerEnvironmental film maker John D. Liu documented the world's largest watershed restoration in China.
Lessons of the Loess PlateauThe ELD initiative produced a short information film on the value of soil and the economic impact of land degradation.
The value of soilWhen land is shared by everyone, who is responsible for its well-being?
Land for life award - Foundation for ecological securityCommonland ambassador, John D. Liu, talks about his first encounter with Allan Savory and what he learned about Holistic Management
John D. Liu about Allan Savory & Holistic ManagementUnbroken Grounds explains the critical role food will play in the next frontier of our efforts to solve the environmental crisis.
Unbroken Ground by Patagonia
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The story behind the Sankofa
The Commonland logo is derived from the image of the Sankofa. This Ghanese symbol represents the importance of learning from the past.
The original symbol shows a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg
off its back. It symbolizes taking from the past what is good and bringing it into
the present in order to make positive progress through the use of knowledge.
At the same time the logo can be seens as a "C" representing the name
"Commonland" or as a graphic illustration of the world.