UN World Restoration Flagships

Ecosystem restoration has become an urgent priority worldwide, as increasing evidence shows the rapid degradation of soils, forests, grasslands, wetlands and other habitats that provide essential services for people and wildlife.

• In response, the United Nations (UN) has launched initiatives like the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 and highlighted eight “World Restoration Flagships” that aim to revive critical ecosystems around the world.
• These large-scale restoration efforts hope to inspire more investment in conservation and sustainable land management globally.

Defining Ecosystem Restoration

Ecosystem restoration refers to assisting in the recovery of degraded ecosystems through active human intervention and management.

• The goal is to partially or fully restore ecosystem health, integrity and sustainability to provide both ecological and socioeconomic benefits over the long-term.

Common restoration methods may include

• Revegetating damaged habitats with native plants
• Removing invasive species
• Addressing soil erosion and improving water management
• Establishing protected areas with restricted land use
• Engaging local communities in conservation agreements and sustainable livelihood projects

The Need for Urgent, Large-Scale Restoration

Researchers estimate that over 75% of the Earth’s land areas have been significantly altered from their natural state, mostly due to expanding agriculture, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, invasive species and climate change.

• This degradation of ecosystems threatens biodiversity and reduces critical services like water filtration, soil health, pollination services, coastal protection from storms, and carbon storage.
• To counter ongoing ecosystem loss and damage worldwide, restoration efforts need to occur at an unprecedented scale over the next decade.
• The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to prevent, halt and reverse degradation through scaling up restoration globally.
• The identified World Restoration Flagships below represent priority regions where large-scale restoration could have exceptionally high social, economic and environmental impacts.

Key Details on the Eight UN World Restoration Flagships

Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact

• Seeks to restore 15 million hectares of tropical forest habitats across Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, reviving connectivity along the forests of the Atlantic coast and interior through large habitat corridors
• Critical for saving endangered species like jaguars by connecting fragmented populations
• Involves over 300 private companies, civil society groups, governments and financial organizations like the World Bank committing over US$200 million to date

AFR100 – African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative

• An Africa-wide project to bring 100 million hectares of land into restoration by 2030
• Focuses on enhancing tree cover through reforestation, agroforestry and other sustainable land management interventions
• Over 30 African countries have committed national targets totaling 113 million hectares
• The initiative has leveraged over $1.4 billion in private investment for sustainable land use practices that far surpass initial public funding

Trillion Trees Platform

• Launched formally at the 2020 World Economic Forum after committing to conserve or restore 1 trillion trees globally by the end of this decade
• Brings together governments, NGOs and corporations to catalyze large-scale efforts to grow, restore and conserve forests
• Key partners include the 1t.org US Chapter and the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org China Chapter
• Has garnered high-level government commitments from the US, Pakistan, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and other major forest nations

Global Mangrove Alliance

• Alliance of over 20 countries seeking to reverse decades of mangrove forest destruction along tropical and subtropical coasts
• Goal to restore 4 million hectares through conservation agreements and sustainable aquaculture requirements
• Healthy mangroves provide exceptional coastal flood protection, store high levels of “blue carbon,” and have tremendous biodiversity
• Indonesia has been an early leader, committing to restore 600,000 hectares of mangroves by 2024 to meet climate goals

Mediterranean Sea Basin Restoration Initiative

• Launched by FAO and UNEP along with groups like WWF to address land degradation and biodiversity loss in Mediterranean forests, wetlands and coastal areas
• Will assist countries in restoring at least 8 million hectares through projects designed collaboratively with local communities
• Priority areas include river basins, forested watersheds and coastal wetlands across Southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa
• Efforts will focus on native tree replanting, addressing soil erosion and landslides, and other ecosystem stabilization measures

Himalaya Biodiversity Conservation and Landscape Restoration Initiative

• Partnership between International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Nepal to restore critical watersheds originating in the Himalayan Mountains
• Will restore 10 million hectares of degraded forests and rangelands to secure water sources serving 1.3 billion people downstream
• Focus areas include northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Myanmar
• Conserving soils and vegetation vital for regulating water flows to major rivers like Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra Rivers

Mesoamerican Dry Forests Restoration Initiative

• Inter-governmental partnership to preserve highly endangered tropical dry forests in Central America and portions of Mexico
• Dry forests are planet’s most threatened biome, with less than 2% under protection globally
• Seeking to bring 12 million hectares under community-based conservation by 2030
• Restoring habitat connectivity for unique wildlife like scarlet macaws, howler monkeys and jaguarundis

Sacred Natural Sites Initiative

• New initiative under the IUCN to preserve biodiversity by supporting indigenous communities and local faith groups who sustainably manage sacred forests, wetlands and other sites with high conservation value
• Over 200 million hectares of sacred natural sites exist worldwide, harboring exceptional biodiversity
• Seeking to gain formal protected status for many sites and ensure full governance rights for indigenous custodians of these lands
• Priority geographies include Northern Australia, forests across Africa and Asia, along with Central and South America

The Way Forward

These eight global initiatives spotlight that ecosystem restoration requires collaborative action across governments, businesses, communities and conservation groups to succeed. While achieving targets like 100 million restored hectares across Africa or 1 trillion conserved and planted trees worldwide is tremendously ambitious, science shows that bold, swift progress is essential this decade to avoid irreplaceable biodiversity loss and secure critical ecosystem services.