The European Green Deal (EGD) represents a unique opportunity for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent and put nature on track to recovery. Commonland has come together with Landscape Finance Lab, as well as 19 other contributors, to issue a policy briefing offering guidance to EU institutions and Member States on why and how to leverage holistic landscape restoration to substantially, effectively, and efficiently deliver the EGD.

The 4 Returns framework for landscape restoration described in this report is a practical tested system-change framework that can be used by stakeholders to undertake a landscape approach. The framework seeks to balance competing stakeholder demands in a mosaic of different management approaches and business cases, to supply a full range of inspirational, natural, social and economic returns.

This report, co-authored by a coalition of 19 environmental organizations, focuses on the application of an investment concept called “Landscape Finance”, a financing approach that supports holistic landscape restoration and can aid the implementation of initiatives such as the European Green Deal. 

That the world’s landscapes and ecosystems are degrading at an unprecedented pace is beyond question. A long-term and systemic approach to landscape restoration can generate monetary value for multiple stakeholders at the same time. This publication calculates the monetary value of restoring landscapes. The preliminary method is developed by Commonland with support of KPMG.