Nairobi, July 2 -- Kenya's landscape restoration agenda is often viewed as an environmental programme focused on restoring forests, rehabilitating watersheds and expanding tree cover. But it also represents something much bigger: the emergence of a new productive sector of the economy.

Mobile money evolved from a simple payment innovation into a globally recognised fintech industry. Renewable energy shifted from a development priority to an attractive investment class. Affordable housing has grown into an ecosystem of developers, manufacturers, financiers and service providers. Landscape restoration may now be following the same path.

According to Kenya's National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy, about 38.8 million hectares...