"Conversation on Land Restoration and Security" at the Munich Security Conference 2025

Feb 16, 2025 | adelphi
Munich, Germany and online
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What happens when land becomes a source of conflict? For three billion people, land is core to their survival and development, but with 20 to 40 percent of global land already degraded or degrading, many communities see this vital resource disappearing before their eyes. As healthy land becomes scarcer, competition and disputes over productive land become more frequent. Over the past 60 years, 40 percent of intrastate conflicts have been linked to natural resources. However, the cooperation, resilience-building, and peace-inducing potential of land restoration has yet to be fully leveraged. To address this gap, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) commissioned the Ground for Peace report on the nexus between land, peace, and security, which was realised by the think tank adelphi research and presented at the UNCCD 16th Conference of Parties in 2024. Building on the report findings, this Conversation, organised by the UNCCD and adelphi research, explores why land should matter to the security community. It sheds light on the links between land degradation, conflict, and human security, and the role of land restoration in preventing conflict, fostering cooperation, and strengthening resilience. 

The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) will take place from February 14 to 16, 2025, at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich. The MSC 2025 will once again offer a platform for high-level debates on the key foreign and security policy challenges of our time.