A Landscape Alliance initiative · Funded by the European Union
Restoring
landscapes.
Unlocking
opportunity.
Thrivelands is a flagship initiative of the Landscape Alliance, funded by the European Union, working to accelerate sustainable land management in the world’s drylands.
Footage by Envato Elements
Why drylands matter
Drylands feed the world.
44%
of the world’s croplands
50%
of the world’s livestock
1 in 3
people worldwide
30%
of the world’s land-based carbon
Where drylands are
Drylands cover more than 40% of the planet’s land surface
Source: UNEP-WCMC, 2007 · Map: FAO Global Drylands Assessment
Tap the map to enlarge
The opportunity
Drylands are the world’s biggest restoration opportunity.
The planet is becoming hotter, drier and less predictable. Drylands have been producing food, fibre and income under those conditions for millennia, through practices that generate value from those conditions, manage risk and spread it across tough years. They supply commodities from meat and dairy to grains, nuts, oils and cotton, several of which are staples the global economy has built itself around.
Our dependency on drylands, what they produce and their untapped potential, has never been greater. These are geographies that cannot be substituted and systems that directly influence supply-chain performance, water security and climate risk. That scale of influence makes these vast landscapes the world’s biggest restoration opportunity.
Drylands are places of deep opportunity.
Video: Food Tank CSO Summit: The Future of Food is Dry · Landscape Alliance (CIFOR-ICRAF) on YouTube
How Thrivelands changes the system
Bringing together governments, investors, researchers, businesses and communities with a stake in drylands, and aligning them around a shared restoration agenda.
Three areas of work
Thrivelands delivers impact in drylands through three interconnected areas of work.
01
Mobilize global action
Shift perceptions, policy and investment to activate drylands as engines of economic opportunity, resilience and peace.
02
Strengthen capacity & knowledge
Equip leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, financiers and community leaders among them, with the evidence, tools and partnerships needed to drive change.
03
Drive large-scale action
Diagnose what enables scaling in a landscape, then build the investment roadmaps and alliances that let lighthouse sites and investment-ready models replicate.
Stories from the field
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Healthy land. Resilient communities. A thriving future for all.