Pressures on land are taking on new urgency in 2025 and beyond. We will discuss the fears and hopes around land conversion, degradation and restoration, and how these shape the work of our three special guests, Irene Suárez Pérez, Selorm Kugbega and Mónica Trujillo.

Irene Suárez Pérez has vast experience working on nature and climate action including international climate negotiations and financial mechanisms. She was the lead of the Nature Team at Climate Champions and is now a Senior Advisor in Groundswell of Global Optimism as well as the Strategy advisor for Restor.

Mónica Trujillo is an economist who's worked on sustainable agriculture and protected areas management across Latin America. She is a Research Fellow at SEI's Latin America center in Bogotá⁠.

Selorm Kugbega is a human geographer who's worked in-depth on structural economic change in agricultural development with a particular focus in Africa. He is a Research Fellow at SEI's Headquarters in Stockholm.

Hosting this episode is Toby Gardner, Senior Research Fellow at SEI, and Co-Director of Trase, an initiative promoting transparency in deforestation and agricultural commodity trade.

This episode is part of SEI’s series, Currents in sustainability, capturing conversations between experts who discuss the most impactful forces they foresee shaping climate policy and sustainable development in the year ahead.

Read more at sei.org.

Music: Ballinger Thought Process (Alt Music) (Instrumental) via Triple Scoop Music / Getty Images.

Voiceover: Intro and outro by Arati Davis, SEI Senior Fellow.