Global Changemaker Academy for Parliamentarians 2025: Legislating for Land, Leading for Change

The health of our land is inseparable from the health of our societies. Yet today, more than one third of the world’s land is degraded, threatening food security, biodiversity, and resilience to climate change. Against this backdrop, Bonn hosted the third edition of the Global Changemaker Academy for Parliamentarians (G-CAP) from 25 to 29 August 2025. 29 parliamentarians from 29 countries, selected from over two hundred applications, came together to explore how lawmaking can turn global ambitions for restoration into national realities.

The G-CAP 2025 Cohort at Bonn, Germany

Building Momentum for Land

Launched by the G20 Global Land Initiative (G20 GLI) and the UN System Staff College in 2023, G-CAP responds to a simple truth: without legislation, restoration cannot move at the scale and speed required. Since its inception, the Academy has brought together more than eighty parliamentarians from fifty-one countries. With the Bonn gathering, participants joined a growing network of 53 parliamentarians from 33 countries across three cohorts—a collective force that is beginning to influence national debates and global negotiations alike. Alumni have already contributed to forums such as COP16 in Saudi Arabia and Ramsar COP15 in Zimbabwe, underscoring the Academy’s reach.

Learning Through Law, Leadership, and Lived Experience

Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and Muralee Thummarukudy, Director G20 Global Land Initiative, UNCCD, meets with the delagates

G-CAP 2025 opened with powerful interventions from Yasmine Fouad, Executive Secretary of UNCCD, and Silke Weinlich, Deputy Director at UNSSC, who welcomed participants and set the tone for the week. Opening discussions highlighted the need for coordinated legislative action across land, climate, and biodiversity commitments. Participants then worked closely with the first draft of the Model Law on Ecosystem Restoration, developed with partners SER and GIZ, considering how its rights-based framework and global precedents might apply in their own countries.

Economic opportunity was another central theme. Through workshops and interactive sessions, parliamentarians examined how the restoration economy - estimated to hold trillion-dollar potential - can generate jobs, attract investment, and support young innovators.

Leadership lessons came from those who have walked the path. Former Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada shared his country’s journey towards decarbonisation, urging parliamentarians to anchor their work in people-centred principles and authentic engagement. Sessions on gender, community rights, and local participation reinforced the importance of inclusive governance, reminding participants that restoration succeeds when citizens are empowered as partners.

A turning point of the Academy was the field visit to Eschweiler, once one of Europe’s largest open-cast mines. Standing on land scarred by decades of extraction but now in the process of renewal, participants saw what regeneration looks like on the ground. Conversations with local stakeholders brought to life the complexities of balancing ecological, economic, and social needs.

A Network of Lawmakers for Restoration

G-CAP 2025 was not only about knowledge but also about connection. Communication labs and networking sessions ensured participants left Bonn with both the skills to engage their constituencies and the relationships to sustain international collaboration.

As Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 GLI, reflected: “Despite global commitments, more land is being degraded than restored. To address this, we are empowering parliamentarians to drive legislative action on land restoration. Over the next decade, we aim to build a global network of well-informed lawmakers committed to this cause”.

Looking Ahead

The Academy’s impact will continue well beyond its closing session. Participants are expected to contribute to ongoing legislative work on the Model Law, represent G-CAP in national and global platforms, and share restoration progress from their countries. Each cohort strengthens a growing network of lawmakers determined to legislate for land and lead for change.

G-CAP 2025 reaffirmed that restoration is not just an environmental imperative - it is a legislative one. By equipping parliamentarians with the tools, knowledge, and partnerships to act, the Academy is helping to transform ambition into action, and action into impact.

For more information and to stay updated on G-CAP activities, visit our website at https://www.globalchangemakeracademy.com/