Munich Security Conference 2025

WATCH THE RECORDING:
Conversation on Land Restoration and Security

16 February 2025, 11:30 - 12:15
Where: Bayerischer Hof (Dachgarten Lounge) and live streamed
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.

Speakers:

• Andrea Meza Murillo (Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNCCD)

• Andrew Gilmour (former Executive Director of the Berghof Foundation)

• H.E. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Federal Republic of Germany

• H.E. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

• Kate Fearon, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and Deputy Head of the OSCE Secretariat

Moderator:

• Beatrice Mosello (Senior Advisor, adelphi)

More on the Ground for Peace report:

Read the full report | Read the Summary for Policymakers

For more than three billion people, land is core to their survival, wellbeing, and dignity. However, with between 20–40% of total global land area degraded or degrading, many are seeing this vital resource disappear before their eyes. As a result, competition and disputes over access to and use of land are increasing and becoming prominent in many conflicts. At the same time, conflicts increase the fragility of the institutions, essential services, infrastructure and governance that are critical for strengthening resilience to a changing climate and environment.

The Ground for Peace report sets the political case for land restoration as a powerful route towards international peace and security, identifies key enablers for land restoration to promote cooperation between countries, and outlines recommendations to elevate the land, peace and security agenda and secure more and better financing.

About MSC:

The MSC's objective is to build trust and to contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts by sustaining a continuous, curated and informal dialogue within the international security community.

The MSC is a forum for debating international security policy. The MSC conceives of its conferences as a type of "marketplace of ideas" where initiatives and solutions are developed and opinions are exchanged. It provides a venue for official and non-official diplomatic initiatives and ideas to address the world’s most pressing security concerns. The MSC also offers protected space for informal meetings between officials and thus – as its original motto has it – build peace through dialogue.

In addition to its annual flagship conference, the MSC regularly convenes high-profile events on particular topics and regions and publishes the Munich Security Report, an annual digest of relevant figures, maps, and research on crucial security challenges.