Land and forest degradation are among the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Globally, 25 percent of the total land area has been degraded. To safeguard the future of our planet, major actions are needed to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. The latest issue of Unasylva, FAO’s international journal for forestry, is anchored in that context. FAO will release Unasylva “Restoring the Earth: The next decade” on 28 October 2020 from 12h30 to 13h00 CET at the GLF Digital Conference: One World – One Health. The publication is the result of the collaborative efforts of almost 100 experts from many international partners and institutions. It showcases the last ten years of progress in the implementation of forest and landscape restoration (FLR) and the actions needed to increase restoration by 2030.

This edition of Unasylva is devoted to building momentum for the restoration agenda, particularly considering the opportunities for restoration presented by the global call to action of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declaring 2021–2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and other major commitments, such as the Bonn Challenge, the New York Declaration on Forests, the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) and Initiative 20×20.

The 252nd edition of Unasylva presents a comprehensive view of the status and prospects for FLR activities. It focuses on new initiatives to obtain more funding and improve technical assistance through FLR programmes and introduces innovative FLR techniques adaptable to different ecosystems and contexts. The issue presents all the factors supporting the implementation of FLR activities and offers details on the elements and capacities needed to enable a global movement. 

The path from here to the year 2030 will be particularly significant and complex. The 252nd edition of Unasylva is a tangible contribution for learning from the achievements accomplished in restoring degraded landscapes and provides the critical tools to better understand how to face challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that await in the next decade. 

Register now here.

For more information please contact the FLRM team.