Urban Land Restoration Course | G20 Global Land Initiative

Trigger Change!

Innovations in
Sustainable
Urban Land Restoration

A resource for university professors

This new transdisciplinary university course, developed over nine months by a team of university professors and urban planning professionals from around the world, serves as a comprehensive resource for educators. In line with the ambitious goals set by the G20 Leaders’ Declaration in November 2020 to reduce land degradation by 50% by 2040, it forms part of the G20 Global Initiative on embedding land restoration into university curricula worldwide.

Launched in May 2025, this course targets university students worldwide enrolled in urban planning and related programs. With a focus on sustainable urban land restoration and innovation, it aims to equip a new generation of urban planners and eco-entrepreneurs.

Professors, lecturers and training instructors can receive course materials and implement this course to empower their students in addressing the challenges of balancing land use, land restoration and sustainable development through informed urban planning.

Course characteristics

Course Structure: Five Modules for Innovation and Sustainable Urban Land Restoration

The Trigger Change! Innovations in Sustainable Urban Land Restoration course is structured into five modules, spanning 48 hours of in-class instruction. Each module delves into innovations in sustainable urban land restoration, providing a comprehensive learning experience for students.

Interactive Learning Approach: Beyond Traditional Lectures

This course transcends conventional teaching methods by incorporating various interactive elements. Students engage with the material through case studies, interactive discussions, exercises and assignments, fostering a deeper understanding and application of the concepts presented.

Flexibility and Adaptability: Empowering Educators to Customize

Designed with flexibility in mind, this course offers modular content that allows educators to tailor their teaching approach. Whether integrating the entire course or selected modules into existing programs, educators have the freedom to adapt the material to suit their course learning objectives and classroom dynamics.

The course is structured around 5 modules

01.

Why Sustainable Urban Land Restoration? This module provides the course rationale and a succinct overview of cities and urban processes in the context of global challenges, specifically regarding urban land, land degradation neutrality and the need for a transition to sustainable urban land restoration.

02.

Approaches to Sustainable Urban Land Restoration. This module covers Sustainable Urban Land Restoration entry points, approaches and principles at various scales, from strategic to local planning, including entry points for Nature-based Solutions in cities.

03.

Enabling Sustainable Urban Land Restoration. This module enables students to develop critical thinking about the factors that may hinder or enable sustainable urban land restoration, notably: stakeholders, finance, policies, related governance approaches and trade-offs between these factors.

04.

Operationalizing Sustainable Urban Land Restoration. This module covers state-of-the-art tools for assessing, planning, decision making, implementing and monitoring sustainable urban land restoration, including land degradation assessment tools, citizen science and decision-making tools, and considerations related to data and ethics.

05.

The Business Case for Sustainable Urban Land Restoration. The final module of our course is dedicated to fostering innovation in sustainable urban land restoration, with an overview of the business model canvas and value proposition for urban planning, whether for public, private or public-private-partnerships.

Creative summative assignments are proposed to foster creative thinking and ecopreneurship.

As a teacher/instructor/faculty member, you will have free access to:

48 hours of transdisciplinary lecture materials in PowerPoint (.ppt);
A 100-page course manual with lecture notes and suggestions on interactive teaching methods;
10 case studies from around the world (PPTs);
Additional reading materials and links to videos.

Need Help? Our tutorial in will guide you through accessing and downloading your course materials.

Fill in to receive the course materials package! (Reserved for University professors/lecturers/instructors at non-profit or government training institutions.)

Terms and Conditions

Frequently asked questions

G20 Global Land Initiative Background

Objective: The objective of the Global Land Initiative is to prevent, halt and reverse land degradation with an ambition to reduce degraded land by 50 percent by 2040. The Initiative was launched in November 2020, during the G20 Saudi Presidency, at the Riyadh Heads of State Summit, the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats was launched.

Course-related

1. What is the course about?

In the global needs assessment undertaken by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a critical gap was identified in courses on urban planning and related topics. Our course aims to fill this gap by providing students with the knowledge and skills to revitalize degraded urban areas, while prioritizing ecological, social, and economic sustainability. This prepares them to participate more fully in urban green renewal as they prepare to become future urban planners, ecopreneurs, and other agents of change!

2. How can we access the course materials?

The course materials were developed for professors, lectures and instructors at higher level education institutions or training institutions teaching urban planning or related topics. If you meet this requirement, follow the link: “Receive course materials”. Read and agree to our Terms and Conditions.

3. What is new about this course?

Modular – the course is organized in 5 modules (and 48 sub-modules, or units) which can be taught individually or as a package, together with a didactic note encouraging interactive teaching methods.
Cutting edge – The course has been drafted by a group of academics with a broad geographic representation and a track record of cutting edge research and education related to urban planning, urban land restoration and nature-based solutions, innovation, and transdisciplinary teaching methods. These diverse perspectives, experiences, and insights have enriched the course content, offering students a broad understanding of global urban challenges and land restoration in an urban context.
Transdisciplinary – the course covers a variety of topics – sustainable urban land restoration, urban-related Nature-based Solutions, sustainable land management, ecopreneurship, and innovation – that not every urban planning professor/lecturer/instructor will be comfortable teaching alone. Therefore, we encourage collaboration between departments or institutions. Such exchanges are well-known catalysts for fostering innovation and creative teaching experiences. The course aims to cultivate experts, supervisors, and/or technicians to implement sustainable urban land restoration initiatives, addressing the current scarcity of such skilled individuals.
Flexible – The duration of the lectures can be tailored to suit various university schedules.

4. What is included in the course materials?

Five modules comprising PowerPoint Presentations (PPTs) with suggested additional readings and student exercises. Additionally, case study PPTs and case study videos will also be provided.

5. What is meant by a modular course?

This allows you to integrate the entire course or select modules, or even just a few slides, into your existing course.

How can I learn about this topic if I am not enrolled at a University or training institution? The good news is that we are also working on a Massive Open Online Course! Sign up for our newsletter and social media for more information on this (https://g20land.org/).

6. I am a University student but my University does not offer this course. What can I do?

Inform your professor about our course! In the meantime, we are also working on a Massive Open Online Course! Sign up for our newsletter and social media for more information on this (https://g20land.org/).

7. How many credits is the course?

The course is estimated at 48 contact hours, corresponding to 3 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). However you are free to expand or reduce the course to meet your University’s requirements.

8. Is this a bachelor’s or master’s course?

It is an upper-level bachelor’s or master’s course for any University worldwide. However the materials could also be used for advanced learning with PhD students. It can also be adapted for training institutions, teaching professionals.

Partners

Main developers

United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences Cologne, Germany

Contributing institutions

Ain Shams University, Egypt (ASU)
Kenyatta University, Kenya (KU)
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia (UGM)
University of Cuenca, Ecuador (UC)
Food and Agriculture Organization – Green Cities Initiative (FAO – GCI)

With inputs by

Oxford University, United Kingdom
Rivers State University, Nigeria
International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA)
SALAR International, Sweden
Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII)

Updates

Stocktaking on Sustainable Urban Land Restoration in Cairo

Laying the ground to restore our future cities

Upcoming events

South-East Asia
23 May 2025 – 9:00 – 10:30 CEST
Register

MENA Region / Arab States
17 June 2025 – 14:00 – 15:30 CEST
Register

Africa Region
26 June 2025 – 14:00 – 15:30 CEST
Register

Latin America Region
8 July 2025 – 16:00 – 17:30 CEST
Register

Community of practice

Join our practitioners’ LinkedIn group, where educators from around the world can come together to exchange valuable insights and experiences. And stay connected through our newsletter for exciting updates – follow the link below to subscribe.

Director's Message

The year 2024 was pivotal for the Global Land Initiative. Land degradation and restoration remained prominent on the global policy agenda throughout.

The UN Environmental Assembly, G7 Leaders’ Summit, G20 Environment and Climate Change Ministers’ meeting, and BRICS Leaders’ Summit addressed land degradation and committed to scaling up land restoration efforts.

The European Union passed a new Restoration Law mandating quantitative targets for land restoration. The UNFCCC, UNCBD and UNCCD Conferences of the Parties (COPs), held during the last quarter of the year, reinforced land restoration as a crucial solution to combat land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change.

Building on this favorable policy momentum, the Global Land Initiative continued to develop and deliver a robust program. In collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), we completed a database on Global Restoration Commitments by countries under the UNCCD, UNCBD, UNFCCC and the Bonn Challenge.

Representing a significant increase in global commitments since 2021, the total global commitment now stands at 1.2 billion hectares, with 30 countries, including 11 G20 members, pledging to restore over 10 million hectares each.

The UNCCD, with financial support from the Global Land Initiative, published the first global restoration economy international report, titled, Investing in Land’s Future: Financial needs assessment for UNCCD. The report defines the private sector’s growing role in land restoration and its potential for creating green jobs.

The study outlines key recommendations to support the growth of the restoration economy, which has an associated market survey valued at $37 billion globally, growing at 8.2% annually and is projected to reach $70 billion by 2031. Together, these studies stressed the need for focused policy action to encourage private sector investment and engagement in the restoration economy.

Working with the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Global Land Initiative launched the first cohort of the “Global Ecopreneurs Program,” training 100 young entrepreneurs from restoration startups. These entrepreneurs received training on improving business plans and pitching to investors. We plan to scale this program regionally to reach 10,000 ecopreneurs by 2029.

Training remained a cornerstone of the Global Land Initiative, with programs on the restoration of mining areas, of urban lands, of lowland-based systems, of drylands and with biosaline agriculture. These trainings consistently attracted more applications than available slots. To accommodate this high demand and broader participation, we also conducted online webinars on these topics, in English, Arabic and French.

The first University Curriculum Course on Sustainable Agriculture for Land Restoration was launched this year. It reached over 400 university teachers, with over 100 trained on implementing the curriculum. A university module on urban land restoration is in its final stages.

Representatives from 25 countries attended the second Global Changemaker Academy for Parliamentarians held in Bonn. With the European Union Restoration Law’s passage, global best practices can now be discussed and adapted to national contexts.

The Global Land Initiative’s visibility surged with participation in the G20 Environment and Climate Change Working Group meetings in Brazil, the COPs of the UNCBD and UNCCD and 7 other international exhibitions. In December, the Initiative, in partnership with Germany’s Federal Museum of Arts and Sciences, opened the Save Land: United for Land Museum Exhibition, the first museum exhibition on land restoration, which will run until June 2025.

Online engagement grew, reaching over 35,000 newsletter subscribers and over 14,000 followers across social media platforms, and a global reach of nearly 400,000. The Global Photography Festival, which attracted 17,000 entries from 154 countries, further boosted visibility.

The Global Restoration Information Hub was launched in July 2024. It is a compilation of globally available data on land restoration from credible sources. The site provides information on global best practices, restoration commitments, best practice legislations, documentaries, restoration actors and other databases.

The Initiative issued a global call for communities and NGOs to submit their restoration projects for small grant support, receiving over 600 submissions from 100 countries. Forty-one projects from XX countries were selected for funding.

[Statement on faith, if the faith report is finalized]

The G20 Global Land Initiative Steering Committee was kept informed of developments through regular communication. It met in July and continues to provide guidance on program implementation. It received the work plan for 2025-26; an exciting period of action is ahead.