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“Trigger change! Innovative agriculture solutions for land restoration” is the tentative title of a new course which was designed over 4 days, 5-8 June at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln), Germany, by 18 University professors, sustainable agriculture and land restoration experts from around the world.

The course is intended for students taking University agriculture programs worldwide. It will focus on sustainable agriculture and innovation as vehicles for land restoration.  It will contribute to a new generation of innovators in sustainable agriculture for land restoration.

The outcome of the blueprinting workshop includes the course outline, which will cover topics such as:

• introduction to land restoration
• sustainable land management through agriculture
• tools and technologies for restoration
• socio-economic aspects of restoration
• agriculture innovation and
• entrepreneurship for restoration. 

Dr Muralee Thummarukudy,  Director of the G20 Global land Initiative (GLI), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, opened the Cologne workshop.

The development of the ‘Innovative agriculture solutions for land restoration’ course is a vital step towards meeting the ambitious target set by the Group of Twenty (G20), of reducing land degradation by 50 per cent by 2040, according to Dr Thummarukudy.

In November 2020, G20 Leaders’ Declaration set this ambitious target and established the “Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats,” which Dr Thummarukudy heads.

The course is one of the Initiative’s efforts to build capacity and empower future land stewards to contribute to sustainable development. It is expected to start mid-2024.

“We need a course that is global in scope, but not cast in stone. It should be flexible to be spread around the word, initiating a collective push through towards the target of reaching one million trainees in 20 years, ” Dr Thummarukudy said in his opening remarks.

Case studies will be an essential feature of the course allowing students to relate to the teaching content through real-life stories across scales.

Cora van Oosten, University of Wageningen, who participated in the workshop summed it up this way: “Every good course needs a good story.”

The partners involved in setting up the course included:

• Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands
• University of Cape Coast, Ghana                                        
• Universidad de Cuenca, Ecuador                                        
• Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia                                
• German-Jordanian University, Jordan                             
• Agricultural University of Ibadan, Nigeria                       
• Azim Premji University, India                                              
• University of Malawi, Malawi
• Food and Agriculture Organisation/ UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, Italy

 Institutions that will take on a large role in co-developing the course included:

• CIFOR-ICRAF & Global Landscapes Forum
• The University of Berne, Center for Development and Environment and WOCAT, Switzerland.
• TH Köln, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany, which hosted the event.

The Blueprinting Workshop is an initiative of G20 Global Land Initiative. The Initiative established by the Group of Twenty (G20), which is made up of the European Union and 19 countries, whose ambition is to reduce global land degradation by 50 percent (or halve it) by 2040.

The G20 collectively accounts for 85 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product, 75 per cent of international trade and two thirds of the global population. With the Initiative, G20 hopes to leverage these and other resources to inspire all stakeholders to collectively deliver on land conservation and restoration outcomes by showcasing success stories, engaging the private sector, empowering civil society and the public, and sharing knowledge to build capacity among G20 members and other stakeholders.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy, Director G20 Global Initiative on Land

Muralee.thummarudkudy@unccd.org

Dr. Karen Sudmeier-Rieux, Capacity-building expert, G20 Global Initiative on Land

Ksudmeier@unccd.int

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