
Land Restoration
Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future
- 1st Edition - October 28, 2015
- Latest edition
- Editors: Ilan Chabay, Martin Frick, Jennifer Helgeson
- Language: English
Land Restoration: Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future provides a holistic overview of land degradation and restoration in that it addresses the issue of land restorati… Read more

Land Restoration: Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future provides a holistic overview of land degradation and restoration in that it addresses the issue of land restoration from the scientific and practical development points of view. Furthermore, the breadth of chapter topics and contributors cover the topic and a wealth of connected issues, such as security, development, and environmental issues. The use of graphics and extensive references to case studies also make the work accessible and encourage it to be used for reference, but also in active field-work planning.
Land Restoration: Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future brings together practitioners from NGOs, academia, governments, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to exchange lessons to enrich the academic understanding of these issues and the solution sets available.
- Provides accessible information about the science behind land degradation and restoration for those who do not directly engage with the science allowing full access to the issue at hand.
- Includes practical on-the-ground examples garnered from diverse areas, such as the Sahel, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.A.
- Provides practical tools for designing and implementing restoration/re-greening processes.
practitioners in land restoration, environmental science and natural resources
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword
- Governing Land Restoration: Four Hypotheses
- Introduction
- Part 1: Social Contexts of Land Restoration
- Chapter 1.1: Land Degradation as a Security Threat Amplifier: The New Global Frontline
- Abstract
- 1.1.1 Introduction
- 1.1.2 The Human Security Lens
- 1.1.3 Land Degradation Can Make Things Worse
- 1.1.4 Global Threats to Human Security
- 1.1.5 Sustainable Land Management and Restoration
- 1.1.6 Land Degradation Neutrality
- 1.1.7 Conclusions
- Chapter 1.2: Land Degradation and Its Impact on Security
- Abstract:
- 1.2.1 Introduction
- 1.2.2 The Recognition of Land Degradation and Climate Change as Security Influences
- 1.2.3 Conflict Constellations
- 1.2.4 Conflict Pathways
- 1.2.5 Hot Spots
- 1.2.6 Conclusions and Recommendations
- Chapter 1.3: (Em)powering People: Reconciling Energy Security and Land-Use Management in the Sudano-Sahelian Region
- Abstract
- 1.3.1 Introduction
- 1.3.2 Paradigm Shifts: Energy Security and Land Degradation
- 1.3.3 Current Patterns of Energy Production and Consumption and the Links Between Energy Security and Land Degradation
- 1.3.4 Vulnerabilities, risks, and resilience of energy systems from a long term perspective
- 1.3.5 Case Studies
- 1.3.6 Policy Options for Mitigating Land Degradation and Improving Energy Security
- 1.3.7 Conclusions and Recommendations
- Appendix Development Indicators
- Chapter 1.4: Enabling Governance for Sustainable Land Management
- Abstract
- 1.4.1 Introduction
- 1.4.2 Land Degradation and Conflict
- 1.4.3 Governance: A Common Denominator
- 1.4.4 Overall Lessons for Improved Governance and Conflict Management
- 1.4.5 Conclusion
- Chapter 1.1: Land Degradation as a Security Threat Amplifier: The New Global Frontline
- Part 2: Concepts and Methodologies for Restoration and Maintenance
- Chapter 2.1: Tenets of Soil and Landscape Restoration
- Abstract
- 2.1.1 Introduction
- 2.1.2 Soil Erosion and Organic Carbon Dynamics
- 2.1.3 Strategies of Soil and Landscape Restoration
- 2.1.4 Implementation of Ecological Restoration
- 2.1.5 Establishing Vegetation Cover
- 2.1.6 Water Management
- 2.1.7 Landscape Restoration and Ecosystem Services
- 2.1.8 Conclusions
- Chapter 2.2: Stabilization of Sand Dunes: Do Ecology and Public Perception Go Hand in Hand?
- Abstract
- 2.2.1 Introduction
- 2.2.2 Study Site
- 2.2.3 Methods
- 2.2.4 Results
- 2.2.5 Discussion
- 2.2.6 Summary and Conclusions
- Chapter 2.3: Trust Building and Mobile Pastoralism in Africa
- Abstract
- 2.3.1 Background: Mobile Pastoralism and Grasslands
- 2.3.2 A Context of Mistrust
- 2.3.3 Failed Interventions and an Inadequate Theoretical Framework
- 2.3.4 Darfur, Sudan—A Need for Good Governance
- 2.3.5 Kaduna State, Nigeria: Ethnoreligious Conflict and Socioeconomic Inclusivity
- 2.3.6 Baringo County, Kenya: An Example of Good Practice
- 2.3.7 Trust Building Successes
- Chapter 2.4: Land Degradation From Military Toxics: Public Health Considerations and Possible Solution Paths
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 2.4.1 Military Activities
- 2.4.2 Chemical Weapons
- 2.4.3 Nuclear Contamination
- 2.4.4 Depleted Uranium
- 2.4.5 Case Study: Landmines and Other Remnants of War
- 2.4.6 Case Study: Land Contamination at Shooting Ranges
- 2.4.7 Case Study: Land Contamination in Kuwait After the 1990–1991 Iraqi Invasion
- 2.4.8 Soil Remediation
- Chapter 2.5: Flood and Drought Prevention and Disaster Mitigation: Combating Land Degradation with an Integrated Natural Systems Strategy
- Abstract
- 2.5.1 Introduction
- 2.5.2 Soil Erosion: Causes and Consequences
- 2.5.3 Restoring Landscape Function Through Soil Formation and Water Harvesting
- 2.5.4 Project Implementation
- Chapter 2.6: Environmental Security, Land Restoration, and the Military: A Case Study of the Ecological Task Forces in India
- Abstract
- 2.6.1 Introduction
- 2.6.2 Land Degradation as Part of the Environmental Security Spectrum
- 2.6.3 Military Dimensions of Environmental Security: Indian and Global Perspectives
- 2.6.4 The Role of the Military in Land Restoration in India
- 2.6.5 Bhatti Mines in the Capital: A Case Study
- 2.6.6 Conclusion
- Chapter 2.7: Releasing the Underground Forest: Case Studies and Preconditions for Human Movements that Restore Land with the Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) Method
- Abstract
- 2.7.1 Introduction
- 2.7.2 FMNR: Birth and Spread of a Movement, Niger Republic
- 2.7.3 Adoption and Rapid Spread of FMNR, Ethiopia
- 2.7.4 FMNR in Ghana: from Despair to “Life and Joy”
- 2.7.5 FMNR in Senegal: Appreciating the Environment
- 2.7.6 Benefits of FMNR
- 2.7.7 Preconditions for the Scale-up of FMNR
- 2.7.8 From the Grassroots to a Global Movement
- 2.7.9 Conclusions
- Chapter 2.1: Tenets of Soil and Landscape Restoration
- Part 3: Soil, Water, and Energy—the Relationship to Land Restoration
- Chapter 3.1: Computational Policy Support Systems for Understanding Land Degradation Effects on Water and Food Security for and from Africa
- Abstract
- 3.1.1 Land Degradation Policy Support
- 3.1.2 Information Needs for Land Restoration
- 3.1.3 Restoring Africa
- 3.1.4 Conclusions
- Chapter 3.2: The Value of Land Restoration as a Response to Climate Change
- Abstract
- 3.2.1 Ecosystems and Climate Change
- 3.2.2 Restoring Terrestrial Carbon Stocks
- 3.2.3 The Restoration Opportunity in Context
- 3.2.4 The Importance of Soil Carbon
- 3.2.5 Land and Climate Change Adaptation
- 3.2.6 Meeting the Rising Demands on Land
- 3.2.7 Conclusion
- Chapter 3.1: Computational Policy Support Systems for Understanding Land Degradation Effects on Water and Food Security for and from Africa
- Part 4: Economics, Policy, and Governance of Land Restoration
- Chapter 4.1: The Importance of Land Restoration for Achieving a Land Degradation–Neutral World
- Abstract
- 4.1.1 Introduction
- 4.1.2 Definition and Accounting of Land Degradation Neutrality
- 4.1.3 Land Restoration
- 4.1.4 Conclusions
- Chapter 4.2: Transforming Land Conflicts into Sustainable Development: The Case of the Taita Taveta of Kenya
- Abstract
- 4.2.1 Introduction
- 4.2.2 Conclusion
- Chapter 4.3: Case Study: Taranaki Farm Regenerative Agriculture. Pathways to Integrated Ecological Farming
- Abstract
- 4.3.1 Case Study: Introduction
- 4.3.2 Decline of Family Farms
- 4.3.3 The Rise of Resilient Farms—Keyline Design
- 4.3.4 Permaculture—A Design Science
- 4.3.5 Complexity and Chaos into Order, from Patterns to Details
- 4.3.6 Taranaki Farm—Local Markets Focus with Financially Sustainable Complex Systems
- 4.3.7 Ethics and Restorative Agricultural Economy
- Chapter 4.4: Regenerating Agriculture to Sustain Civilization
- Abstract
- 4.4.1 Introduction
- 4.4.2 The Need for a New Agricultural Philosophy
- 4.4.3 Water Management: Agricultural Practices and Policies
- 4.4.4 Holistic Management
- 4.4.5 Policy and Development Projects
- 4.4.6 Improving Management
- Chapter 4.5: Land Degradation: An Economic Perspective
- Abstract
- 4.5.1 The Economics of Land Degradation Initiative
- 4.5.2 From Scientific Knowledge to Action: Implementation of Economic Valuation
- Chapter 4.6: Four Returns, Three Zones, 20 Years: A Systemic Approach to Scale up Landscape Restoration by Businesses and Investors to Create a Restoration Industry
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 4.6.1 Introduction
- 4.6.2 Ecosystem Restoration: The Economy Relies on Ecology
- 4.6.3 Restoring Ecosystem Functions Is Restoring our Economy
- 4.6.4 Restoration and Rehabilitation
- 4.6.5 A Toolbox of Promising Solutions
- 4.6.6 Business Schools: Preparing Managers for a Restoration Industry
- 4.6.7 Closing the Gap Between Business and Ecosystem Restoration
- 4.6.8 Creating Ecosystem Restoration Partnerships
- 4.6.9 A Practical Systemic Approach: The Four Returns Model
- 4.6.10 From Restoration-Ready to Investor-Ready: Developing a Four Returns/Three Zones/20 Years Restoration Industry
- 4.6.11 Conclusion
- Chapter 4.7: Restoring Degraded Ecosystems by Unlocking Organic Market Potential: Case Study from Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe
- Abstract
- 4.7.1 Introduction
- 4.7.2 The Wider Challenge
- 4.7.3 Engaging Different Actors to Stimulate Change
- 4.7.4 Action Research Area
- 4.7.5 Our Approach
- 4.7.6 Facilitating Behavioral Change to Restore Ecosystem Functions
- 4.7.7 Engaging Leadership for Land Tenure Security
- 4.7.8 Farmer Agency: Facilitating Representation
- 4.7.9 Promising Advances
- 4.7.10 Ongoing and Emerging Challenges
- 4.7.11 Market Production Versus Natural Resource Use
- 4.7.12 Conclusion
- Chapter 4.8: A Continuing Inquiry into Ecosystem Restoration: Examples from China’s Loess Plateau and Locations Worldwide and Their Emerging Implications
- Abstract
- Acknowledgment
- 4.8.1 A Journey Begins
- 4.8.2 Mosaic Landscape Theory
- 4.8.3 Lessons
- 4.8.4 Communicating About the Chinese Restoration Experiences in Africa
- 4.8.5 Water Retention Landscapes
- 4.8.6 Biodiversity
- 4.8.7 Land Tenure and Precedent?
- 4.8.8 The Promise of the Commons
- 4.8.9 Valuing Fundamentals
- 4.8.10 Conclusion
- Chapter 4.1: The Importance of Land Restoration for Achieving a Land Degradation–Neutral World
- Part 5: The Community as a Resource for Land Restoration
- Chapter 5.1: Poverties and Wealth: Perceptions, Empowerment, and Agency in Sustainable Land Management
- Abstract
- 5.1.1 Introduction
- 5.1.2 History of the Suid Bokkeveld
- 5.1.3 Geography and Ecology of the Suid Bokkeveld
- 5.1.4 Some Key Concepts for Sustainable Development
- 5.1.5 The Process of Development in the Suid Bokkeveld
- 5.1.6 Conserving Natural Resources
- 5.1.7 Agency and Development in the Suid Bokkeveld
- 5.1.8 Conclusion
- Chapter 5.2: All Voices Heard: A Conflict Prevention Approach to Land and Natural Resources
- Abstract
- 5.2.1 Introduction
- 5.2.2 Role of Law and Policy: Participatory Decision Making
- 5.2.3 Role of Law and Policy: Empowering Local Communities
- 5.2.4 Role of Law and Policy: Building Resilience
- 5.2.5 Conclusions and Recommendations
- Chapter 5.1: Poverties and Wealth: Perceptions, Empowerment, and Agency in Sustainable Land Management
- Part 6: Gender in the Context of Land Restoration
- Chapter 6.1: Land Restoration, Agriculture, and Climate Change: Enriching Gender Programming Through Strengthening Intersectional Perspectives
- Abstract
- 6.1.1 Introduction
- 6.1.2 Incorporating Social Difference into Land Restoration Research and Programming
- 6.1.3 Climate Change, Gender, and Land Restoration
- 6.1.4 Drawbacks of Conventional Binary Gender Analysis
- 6.1.5 Expanding Intersectional Gender Analysis Within Land Restoration and Climate Change Research
- 6.1.6 Conclusions: Looking Toward Integrating Land Restoration, Climate Change, and Intersectional Gender Research
- Chapter 6.2: Gender Roles and Land Use Preferences—Implications to Landscape Restoration in Southeast Asia
- Abstract
- 6.2.1 Introduction
- 6.2.2 Gender and Land Management Nexus
- 6.2.3 Case Studies
- 6.2.4 Gender Implications with Land Restoration
- Chapter 6.1: Land Restoration, Agriculture, and Climate Change: Enriching Gender Programming Through Strengthening Intersectional Perspectives
- Part 7: Communities, Restoration, Resilience
- Chapter 7.1: Drought-Management Policies and Preparedness Plans: Changing the Paradigm from Crisis to Risk Management
- Abstract
- 7.1.1 Introduction
- 7.1.2 National Drought Policy: Background
- 7.1.3 Drought Policy Development: A Template for Action
- 7.1.4 National Drought-Management Policy: A Process
- 7.1.5 Summary and Conclusion
- Chapter 7.2: Not the Usual Suspects: Environmental Impacts of Migration in Ghana’s Forest-Savanna Transition Zone
- Abstract
- 7.2.1 Introduction
- 7.2.2 Dagaba Migration
- 7.2.3 First Line of Evidence: Environmental Degradation Overstated
- 7.2.4 Second Line of Evidence: Most Environmental Degradation, If Any, Occurred Before the Large-Scale Immigration of Settler Farmers from the North
- 7.2.5 Third Line of Evidence: The Studies That Blame Migrants for Environmental Degradation Neglect the Most Crucial Causes of Land Degradation
- 7.2.6 Fourth Line of Evidence: Immigration of Farmers from Northwest Ghana Hardly Plays a Role in Local Discourses of Environmental Degradation
- 7.2.7 Fifth Line of Evidence: Native Farmers See Differences in Farming Techniques Between Themselves and Settler Farmers, but They Don’t Think That Settlers’ Methods Are More Destructive
- 7.2.8 Sixth Line of Evidence: A Survey Among Settler Farmers and Native Farmers Shows Differences in Farming Techniques But No Evidence That Settlers’ Methods Are More Degrading
- 7.2.9 Evaluation of Survey Findings on Land-Use Sustainability
- 7.2.10 Conclusion
- Chapter 7.3: The Global Restoration Initiative
- Abstract
- 7.3.1 Introduction
- 7.3.2 Opportunity
- 7.3.3 Climate Change Mitigation
- 7.3.4 Water Benefits
- 7.3.5 Economic Livelihoods
- 7.3.6 Conflict Reduction
- 7.3.7 Gender
- 7.3.8 . . . but hurdles remain
- 7.3.9 Solutions?
- 7.3.10 Conclusion
- Chapter 7.1: Drought-Management Policies and Preparedness Plans: Changing the Paradigm from Crisis to Risk Management
- Part 8: Selected Case Studies
- Chapter 8.1: Indigenuity: Reclaiming our Relationship with the Land
- Abstract
- 8.1.1 Introduction
- 8.1.2 Reclaiming Our Relationship with the Land
- 8.1.3 WAF Initiatives Show the Way Forward
- 8.1.4 Conclusion: Constructing a New Narrative for Food Security
- Chapter 8.2: Land Restoration and Community Trust: Keys to Combating Poverty: A Case Study from Rural Maharashtra, India
- Abstract
- 8.2.1 Introduction
- 8.2.2 Local Ecosystems and Economic Setting
- 8.2.3 A Restoration Program in the Western Ghats
- 8.2.4 Community Participation for Restoration
- 8.2.5 Opportunities for Building Trust
- 8.2.6 Conclusions
- Chapter 8.3: Shifting from Individual to Collective Action: Living Land’s experience in the Baviaanskloof, South Africa
- Abstract
- 8.3.1 Land Degradation and Three Disconnects
- 8.3.2 Ecological Divide
- 8.3.3 Social Divide
- 8.3.4 The Disconnect from Self
- 8.3.5 The Living Lands Experience and Approach
- 8.3.6 Conclusion
- Chapter 8.4: Development and Success, For Whom and Where: The Central Anatolian Case
- Abstract
- 8.4.1 Agricultural Development, Past and Present
- 8.4.2 What Development Brought to and Took from Central Anatolia
- 8.4.3 Indigenous Anatolian Agriculture Management
- 8.4.4 Karapınar Anthroscape Model
- 8.4.5 Conclusion
- Chapter 8.5: Sharing Knowledge to Spread Sustainable Land Management (SLM)
- Abstract
- Chapter 8.1: Indigenuity: Reclaiming our Relationship with the Land
- Part 9: Suggestions for Ways to Use This Book
- Chapter 9.1: Buffets, Cafes, or a Multicourse Meal: On the Many Possible Ways to Use This Book
- Abstract
- Chapter 9.1: Buffets, Cafes, or a Multicourse Meal: On the Many Possible Ways to Use This Book
- Part 10: Concluding Remarks and a Way Forward
- Chapter 10.1: Concluding Remarks
- Abstract
- Chapter 10.1: Concluding Remarks
- Index
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: October 28, 2015
- Language: English
IC
Ilan Chabay
MF
Martin Frick
Martin Frick is an international civil servant and former diplomat with over three decades of experience in human rights, climate change, food systems, and humanitarian affairs. He serves as Director of the World Food Programme’s Global Office Germany, managing WFP’s relationship with one of its largest donors. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome.
Previously, he was Deputy to the Special Envoy for the UN Secretary-General’s 2021 Food Systems Summit, leading its strategic and operational preparations. As Senior Director at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, he oversaw the implementation of the Paris Agreement and global Climate Action initiatives. He also directed the FAO’s work on climate change and served as Germany’s Ambassador to UN organizations in Bonn, helping establish the UN’s Sustainability Hub. Earlier in his career, he worked closely with Kofi Annan’s Global Humanitarian Forum on climate justice and advised Germany’s Foreign Minister on cabinet affairs. Dr. Frick holds a PhD in Law from Regensburg University and a diploma in International Relations from Sciences Po Strasbourg.
JH