Holistic landscape restoration plays a crucial role in drought management as part of integrated land and watershed management practices that deliver multiple benefits. Healthy, restored landscapes improve water availability (e.g. increased infiltration, reduced evaporation) for agriculture, nature and people. The aim of this event is to exchange knowledge and raise awareness of the role of large-scale, holistic landscape restoration as an important part of reversing land degradation, increasing resilience to drought, adapting to climate change, halting biodiversity loss and making agriculture and communities more resilient. The barriers to adopting a landscape approach and potential solutions will be discussed, together with the role of long-term, integrated planning (e.g. drought and water management) to promote landscape restoration and halt desertification, with a focus on arid and semi-arid environments. Finally, also the implications for freshwater bodies, multilateral environmental agreements and lessons learned from the European Union’s nature restoration law will be addressed.

Moderator

Dennis Pulimittathu

Speakers

Willem Ferwerda

Thomas Miewald

Andras Krolopp

Harko Koster

Phemo Karen Kgomotso