The Landscape Restoration initiative aims to restore the essential ecosystem functions which nature provides, which people fundamentally rely upon and which make concrete contributions to solving global challenges, from food and poverty to living within planetary boundaries. The project is led by the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, a proactive network that unites stakeholders at all levels.

The stated goal is restoring 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2020, as well as an additional 200 million hectares by 2030. Achieving this would facilitate the implementation of several existing international commitments that require restoration, including the CBD Aichi Target 15, UNFCCC REDD+ goal and the Rio+20 land degradation target.

Landscape Restoration engages with local communities and governments, national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.

Different sectors stand to benefit from regained ecological integrity as food security, water, climate adaptation, biodiversity and energy can all improve with the positive impacts of restoration.

Forests contribute to the fight against climate change, notably by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Productive land improves livelihoods and stimulates local economies.

The initiative has been launched under the Lima Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) to strengthen cooperative climate action throughout 2015 and beyond.

Landscape Restoration departs from the Bonn Challenge, established in September 2011, and increases its ambition on the New York Declaration on Forests, made in September 2014.

For more information on the initiative, please visit this page or contact Patrick Wylie patrick.wylie@iucn.org

Photo credit: UN Photo/Albert González Farran