From Degraded Hillsides to Productive Land: Ethiopia’s Landscape Management Program

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2026/06/15/from-degraded-hillsides-to-productive-land-ethiopia-s-landscape-management-program?cid=ECR_E_NewsletterWeekly_EN_EXT&deliveryName=DM284328 STORY HIGHLIGHTS Ethiopia’s CALM Program has brought over 2.56 million hectares under sustainable landscape management across 700 woredas, one of the largest landscape restoration efforts on the continent. More than 8.8 million Second Level Landholding Certificates have been issued to 3.9 million households, securing rights to over 16 million hectares of land and demonstrating that farmers who hold formal rights to their land invest more in its long-term restoration. The program has generated over 1.1 million jobs, enabled access to $65 million in loans for certified landholders, and reached over 11.5 million beneficiaries, of whom 50% percent are women.