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The Values for Land-From Degradation to Opportunity In 2026, our long standing partner-organisation Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative marks its 15th anniversary, celebrating a journey defined by one central idea: turning degradation into opportunity. Over the past decade and a half, ELD has worked at the intersection of science, economics, and policy to demonstrate that sustainable land management […]

A new report released today by Commonland, Climate Focus and over 25 other organisations and research institutes as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration highlights how policy coherence is a prerequisite for successful landscape and seascape restoration, showing how governments can save billions in public funds while also restoring ecosystems. The report offers […]

Recomendaciones Dirigidas a Actores Políticos para Lograr Inspiración y Retornos Sociales, Naturales y Financieros.

Recommendations for Latin American and Caribbean policy actors to attain inspirational, social, natural, and financial returns. Here you can access the publication.

Research co-authored by Commonland colleagues offers practice insights into the importance of stakeholder engagement, and explains why long-term landscape restoration initiatives must invest in social alliances. Landscapes are shaped by the people living within and connected to them. These stakeholders have different worldviews and agendas, varying desires, and, potentially, conflicting ideas about how to act […]

“Investing at landscape level requires us to look at our world through a different lens. An investment in landscape restoration is not just an investment in the environment, it is an investment in our shared future.”  Margaret Kim, Chief Executive Officer, Gold Standard Amsterdam, Netherlands November 24th, 2023– Today, a new report details how EU financing of […]

This paper is an expression of the partnership between Commonland and the Presencing Institute that aims to develop a model of change and build strong regional and landscape partnerships with other organisations to achieve impact at scale. It is a first start to create a dialogue with the wider community. The paper is a living document that will be updated along with insights gained from future dialogues.

In 2015, Willem Ferwerda, along with our colleague Dieter van Broeck and Commonland Ambassador John D.Liu, each contributed chapters to the Elsevier-published book “Land Restoration: Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future” by Ilan Chabay, Martin Frick, Jennifer Helgeson. Read on to find out more about the book and access links to the individual chapters. The book: Land Restoration: […]

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 European Green Deal (EGD). The EGD represents a unique opportunity for Europe to […]

Commonland and Presencing Institute have joined forces to bring together the many stakeholders and actors involved in landscapes and create an enabling environment for addressing the root causes of land degradation. This unique approach, called 4 Returns Labs, combines the 4 Returns Framework and the Theory U Framework of the Presencing Institute.

El Marco de los 4 Retornos para la restauración de paisajes es una herramienta práctica y probada de cambio sistémico que permite a las partes interesadas aplicat un enfoque paisajístico. Este marco aspira a equilibrar el conjunto de demandas enfrentadas de las distintas partes interesadas mediante el uso de un mosaico de enfoques de gestion […]

Four Returns, Three Zones, 20 Years: a systemic and practical approach to scale up landscape restoration by businesses and investors to create a restoration industry. In: Chabay, I., Frick, C.M. and J.F. Helgeson (Eds.): Land Restoration: Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future. 560 p. Elseviers Science.

To restore and regenerate ecosystems for the sake of future generations, we need to redesign our current economic model. This requires a long-term focus and a new perspective on value, called integrated value, including social and natural value besides financial.For this purpose, we have co-developed a method capable of calculating the integrated long-term value of large-scale landscape interventions: the 4 Returns landscape valuation method.

Commonland partners with foundations, investors and philanthropists to support local Indian organisations with holistic landscape regeneration that benefits nature and communities.

Esta publicación es el resultado de una colaboración entre Commonland, el WWF Landscape Finance Lab y Wetlands International, con el apoyo de la Comisión de Gestión de Ecosistemas de la IUCN. La publicación se lanzó durante el El Decenio de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Restauración de los Ecosistemas.

This publication is the result of a close collaboration between Commonland, the WWF Landscape Finance Lab and Wetlands International, with support from the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management. The publication was launched during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

This study by OroVerde – Tropical Forest Foundation and the Global Nature Fund (GNF) of November 2019 gives an overview of existing Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) Initiatives, their goals and the stakeholders involved. Recommendations were developed based on four case studies, of which one is our partner Living Land’s work in the Baviaanskloof, South Africa. Find […]

This Think Piece by the International Resource Panel (IRP) provides science-based reflections highlighting the strategic importance of land restoration efforts for the achievement of every single SDG.

That the world’s landscapes are degrading at an unprecedented pace is beyond question. But the newest report from Commonland unveils a first preliminary method that makes it possible to calculate the monetary value of financial, natural, social and inspirational returns of landscape regeneration.