Incubating and financing sustainable landscapes

New Futures for Victorian Landcare combines project partner capabilities to develop and pilot an innovative landscape planning approach, building on the work of not-for-profit Landcare Networks in the state of Victoria, where Australia's Landcare movement began in the 1980s.

Ireland is home to a significant portion of Europe's peatlands. Owing to their carbon-capturing properties, peatlands have the potential to reduce Ireland’s green house gas emissions by 5%. Peatland Finance Ireland (PFI) is developing an innovative, multi-stakeholder model for funding and rewarding peatland restoration.

The Great Sea Reef, locally known as the “Cakaulevu'' is the southern hemisphere’s third longest continuous barrier reef system. Running over 200 km in length from the island of Vanua Levu to the Yasawa Islands, the Great Sea Reef is a hotspot for biodiversity with a high value coral real, two major deltas, mangrove systems, sea grasses for turtles and fish nursery grounds and four of the six major rivers of the country draining into the Reef.

The Flow Country in the far north of Scotland is home to the largest, intact blanket peat bog in Europe. It stores 400 million tonnes of carbon - more than double the amount of all UK forests and woodlands. An important wildlife habitat for many rare species, it is being considered for UNESCO world heritage designation.

South East Queensland is a biodiversity hotspot. Landmark sites such as the Gondwana Rainforests Heritage Area and Moreton Bay Ramsar site amongst others are home to iconic animal species like koala, lungfish, dugong, platypus and eastern curlew.

The Venice Lagoon is the largest coastal wetland in Italy. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987, the tidal system hosts a unique range of salt marshes, reed beds, seagrass meadows and mudflats.

The Great North Bog is a pioneering, landscape-scale restoration initiative spearheaded by six ‘Peatland Partnerships’ in protected areas spanning nearly 7,000 square kilometers across the north of England. Collectively, the upland peatlands of the Great North Bog are estimated to store 400 million tonnes of carbon, making a significant contribution to the UK’s climate and carbon commitments. They also supply the drinking water to 15 million households in the surrounding area.