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WageningenX: Landscape Finance: Investing in Innovation for Sustainable Landscapes

4.6 stars
7 ratings

Bridge the gap between finance and landscape! Learn to navigate the web of landscape financial flows, mechanisms and requirements toward developing cutting-edge business cases and models for sustainable development in landscapes.

Landscape Finance: Investing in Innovation for Sustainable Landscapes
4 weeks
1–3 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Enrollment closed
Future dates to be announced

About this course

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Landscape approaches call for innovative interventions that cut across sectors and scales. Public and private funders are ready to invest but there are gaps to bridge. Integrated landscape investments, which enable bankable projects to be realized, need to be built on shared understandings and motivations between landscape inhabitants and leaders and the world of finance.

Are you from the finance world and want to think from a landscape perspective? Or, are you working in or for a landscape and want to mobilise resources? Join this course and bridge the gap between finance and landscapes. Gain critical insights and develop the skills to capitalize on investors motivation to invest and the need for innovative financing in landscapes

Financial experts will share their experiences and get you ready to join the global momentum on financing landscape initiatives. You'll learn about multi-sector, multi-stakeholder investments that manage and affect multiple landscape functions.

Join this MOOC now and jump right into breaking down complex language and concepts in a light and highly interactive manner. Learn about plural values and how they can be achieved with the right investment. Learn too how to stimulate, secure and coordinate the execution of that investment. During this course, you'll also learn to develop integrated investment strategies to support landscape leaders and investors in their related efforts.

Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes

This course is also part of the Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes Professional Certificate Programme. Following the complete programme lets you harness the power of place and advance your career as a landscape leader. The programme consists of the following courses, which can be taken in any given order:

Course created with support from

Global Landscapes Forum

At a glance

  • Institution: WageningenX
  • Subject: Energy & Earth Sciences
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:
    • A BA/BSc or higher-level certificate in financial/business/economic fields or social sciences
    • A minimum of one year's academic or professional engagement in landscapes or development finance
  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated programs:
  • Associated skills:Sustainable Landscaping, Landscaping, Sustainable Development, Investments, Governance, Leadership, Finance

What you'll learn

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  • Learn how integrated landscape investments can add financial value
  • What sources of capital can be mobilised and blended for landscape investments
  • Which financial mechanisms can support landscape investments
  • The challenges and pathways to bankable projects
  • Innovations for coordinating and facilitating landscape investments

1: Introduction to Landscape Finance

In this first module, you will join the mission to develop a shared language and understanding of the key investment challenges in our world’s landscapes.

2: The Business Case

In this module, you will learn the importance of thinking like an investor and start to assess landscape opportunities for the multiple values they create.

3: Financing Sources and Mechanisms

In this module, you will learn about the diverse plural sources of capital and funding for landscape investments. You will also learn the unique traits and demands of various sources and how they seek to compliment and use each other.

4: Bankable Projects

In this module, you will learn how investors assess and are attracted to invest in projects and businesses. You will explore what makes propositions more attractive and try out tools to strengthen your pull to investors.

5: Coordinating Investments

In this module, you will learn about the key challenge of coordinating investments and activities in multi-stakeholder settings. You will also learn about the logical need to prioritise and schedule investments for better impact.

6: Put Your Knowledge into Action

Throughout the short course, you have been applying your learning to a case of your choosing. In this module, you will bring it all together, show what you have learned and present yourself and your case.

Learner testimonials

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''I am a WUR Alumni, and I am proud of keep being part of this like-minded community. Great job! Good content, very pleasant instructors. Your input, clarity in exposure and energy has been very much appreciated.''

''I want to give the lecturers a compliment for the time they put in responding to everyone's input and engaging in conversations with the participants of this course. I expected less involved because the course is online but reading the feedback and discussions helped a lot in my learning process.''

Frequently Asked Questions

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Do you have questions about the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and/or related online programmes of Wageningen University & Research? To help you find answers to your questions, we created a list with frequently asked questions about enrolling, participating in- and finishing a MOOC.

This course is part of Sustainable & Inclusive Landscapes Professional Certificate Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
4 skill-building courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
4 months
2 - 4 hours per week

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