Climate Action in Biodiverse Landscapes

Climate Action in Biodiverse Landscapes, offered by Wageningen University & Research through edX, is an online course designed to help learners move from climate analysis to practical action at the landscape level. The course focuses on how climate change and biodiversity are interconnected and shows how joint action can be used to understand and address climate impacts in landscapes and work settings. With examples from around the world, it introduces a landscape-based approach to climate adaptation and mitigation that links environmental resilience with human well-being.

Core Content

The curriculum explores how climate change affects biodiversity and human well-being, and how biodiversity can support both adaptation and mitigation efforts. It covers climate science fundamentals, landscape approaches, stakeholder collaboration, climate vulnerabilities, nature-based climate solutions, and climate finance. The course is structured to guide learners from analysis toward identifying and prioritising practical solutions, with support from professionals from different fields and examples drawn from global landscape contexts.

Key Skills

Participants will develop the ability to explain different forms of climate action, understand why landscapes are a useful entry point for climate response, and assess how biodiversity can be integrated into climate strategies. The course also helps learners build skills in stakeholder analysis, multi-stakeholder collaboration, participatory assessment, identification of adaptation and mitigation measures, and the development of early climate action business cases.

Target Learners

This course is designed for learners who want to understand how climate change is affecting landscapes and how collaborative action can support more effective responses. It is particularly relevant for sustainability professionals, landscape practitioners, environmental learners, and others interested in nature-based solutions, climate adaptation, and mitigation at the local or regional scale. The current public course metadata commonly classifies it at an intermediate level, making it better suited to learners seeking more than a basic awareness course.

Learning Format

Hosted on edX, the course is delivered as a self-paced online MOOC. Wageningen University & Research lists the duration as four weeks with an expected study effort of four to six hours per week, and notes that the course starts directly. It is also part of the Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes Professional Certificate Programme, allowing learners to take it either on its own or within a broader learning pathway.

Additional Benefits

The course offers practical value for learners who want structured support in taking their first steps toward climate action in real landscapes. Its focus on collaboration, biodiversity, and nature-based solutions gives it a strong applied orientation, while its inclusion in the Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes Professional Certificate adds progression value. Wageningen University & Research also presents it as a course that can be directly applied to a learner’s own business or landscape context.

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