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A Business Approach to Sustainable Landscape Restoration

Approx. 25 hours to complete

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Course Summary

Learn about the principles and practices of landscape restoration and how they contribute to sustainable development. This course covers topics such as ecological restoration, social and economic aspects of restoration, and monitoring and evaluation.

Key Learning Points

Understand the concepts and principles of landscape restoration and sustainable development
Learn about the different approaches and techniques used in ecological restoration
Explore the social and economic aspects of restoration and their role in sustainable development
Gain knowledge on monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects

Job Positions & Salaries of people who have taken this course might have

Ecological Restoration Specialist
- USA: $56,000 - $84,000
- India: ₹4,00,000 - ₹9,00,000
- Spain: €24,000 - €39,000
Sustainability Consultant
- USA: $62,000 - $102,000
- India: ₹3,00,000 - ₹15,00,000
- Spain: €24,000 - €45,000
Environmental Policy Analyst
- USA: $50,000 - $82,000
- India: ₹3,00,000 - ₹8,00,000
- Spain: €20,000 - €36,000

Learning Outcomes

Understand the concept and principles of landscape restoration and sustainable development
Apply different approaches and techniques used in ecological restoration
Analyze the social and economic aspects of restoration and their role in sustainable development

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic understanding of ecology and environmental science
Interest in sustainable development and restoration practices

Course Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Course Format

Online
Self-paced

Similar Courses

Sustainable Land Management
Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability
Conservation and Restoration Science

Related Education Paths

Related Books

Description

Integrated landscape management and large-scale landscape restoration should be in every company’s business strategy because in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goal on Land Degradation Neutrality (SDG Number 15.3) scaling up and acceleration of business-driven landscape restoration is urgently needed.

This requires business professionals with a vision, the right knowledge and skills. This MOOC aims to train the next generation of business professionals and developers to acknowledge business’ interdependency with healthy landscapes and understand the value of ecosystem resources. “Historically, we have found countless ways to justify our continued exploitation of the environment: discovery, tradition, Manifest Destiny, even Chinese hoax. But we’re all out of excuses now. Each passing day swells the data on greenhouse gases and extreme weather, shrinking reservoirs and rising sea levels, and diminishing biodiversity. Our resources are finite, the window for change if not firmly shut, is certainly closing, and all life must adapt or be doomed.” Téa Obreht, The New Yorker, Dec. 19&26, 2016, p. 106. It is a frightening prospect indeed – that all life on Earth must either adapt or be doomed. This course is about landscape degradation – a global and wicked problem that is contributing to the dooming prospect of depletion of Earth’s finite resources. But this course is also about the solutions to this problem – business driven landscape restoration. So rather than leaving you powerless with the prospect Obreht puts fowards above, it is our hope that you learn how you can be part of the solution to making sure that Planet Earth still provides a safe and habitable home for future generations. We must act big and we must act now. With this course we want to pass on valuable knowledge and teach you useful skills that you can apply in your professional life that will enable you to tackle the issue of landscape degradation and restoration. The issue is urgent, so let’s dive right into it. This MOOC is developed by the ENABLE partnership, which is co-funded by the ERASMUS+ programme of the European Commission and involves a diverse, international group of organizations including Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Commonland, United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme, the Spanish National Research Council and Estoril Global Conferences.

Outline

The business potential for Integrated Landscape Management and Restoration
Teaser video
Meet Simon Moolenaar
General Introduction to ENABLE and course
Land degradation
Land degradation neutrality
The potential for large-scale landscape restoration
A role for business in landscape restoration
General introduction to the 4 returns approach
Deep dive into the 4 returns approach
Glossary for the Course
Week 1 Required Readings

Land degradation and restoration of degraded ecosystems
Meet Olafur Arnalds
Meet Johann Thorsson
Meet Asa L. Aradottir
Ecosystems, Sustainable Development and SDGs
What is Land Degradation and how does it affect Ecosystems?
Land Potential: What our land can do
Land Condition: The state of the land
What is Ecological Restoration?
How to restore land
Keeping Ecosystems Healthy - it is simply a matter of having a future
Week 2 Recommended Readings
Multiple Choice Practice Quiz

Economics of land degradation
Meet Nicola Favretto
The value of land and economic valuation methods
The business case for sustainability
How to assess the economics of land management? The ELD 6+1 methodological approach
Basics of Cost-Benefit Analysis and scenario development
Interview with Ivo Mulder, REDD+ Green Economy Advisor for UN Environment
Interview with Robert Costanza, Professor and Chair in Public Policy, Australian National University
Week 3 Recommended Reading

Commonland projects: process, team-roles and skills involved
Meet Simon Moolenaar
General process description (part 1)
General process description (part 2)
Commonland Case Study: South Africa
Secondary Effects of the Commonland Project in South Africa
Commonland Case Study: Spain
Commonland Case Study: Australia
Roles and skills in landscape restoration projects
Learn more about the Commonland approach and projects

Wicked problems and Partnerships
Meet Rob van Tulder
Wicked problems: an introduction
Why is landscape degradation a wicked problem?
Cross-sector partnerships: an introduction
Configuration of partnerships
Strategic Partnership Portfolio management
Week 5 Required Readings

How to design a sustainable business model?
Meet Steve Kennedy
Inclusive business model canvas
Phase One: Identifying
Phase Two: Designing
Phase Three: Implementing
Week 6: Required Readings
Multiple Choice Quiz

Capstone project
Last Words
Want to learn more?
Thank you to
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Summary of User Reviews

Read reviews of the Landscape Restoration for Sustainable Development course on Coursera. Learn about the course content, instructors, and student experience. Many users found the course engaging and informative.

Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course

The course content was engaging and informative.

Pros from User Reviews

Instructors were knowledgeable and responsive
Course content was relevant and up-to-date
Interactive assignments and quizzes kept students engaged

Cons from User Reviews

Some users found the course material to be too basic
Technical issues with the platform were reported by some users
Course workload was too heavy for some students

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