The Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) participated in the partners’ side events “Seeds for trees: the importance of seed and seedling supply for effective and resilient restoration” and “Unlocking the Economics of Ecosystem Restoration”, held at the XV World Forestry Congress. During the first event, speakers from the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, the Centre for Studies and Research on African Pharmacopoeia and Traditional Medicine (CERPHAMETA) at the University of Bangui, the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), the Tropical Rainforest Conservation & Research Center (TRCRC – Malaysia), the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding India (IFGTB - India), the Forest Research and Development Agency (FORDA - Indonesia), the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Madagascar, the University of Exeter, the European Forest Institute (EFI) and FAO assessed priority action needs for strengthening supply chains for quality seeds of native tree species. In the second event, such initiatives were shown to benefit from the end goal of the Economics of Ecosystem Restoration (TEER) initiative: to develop a database that serves as a reference point for governments, international donors, private investors, project managers, scientists and other stakeholders (see short paper published for the World Forestry Congress). 

Approaches to ecosystem restoration are continually evolving and expanding. Included in these initiatives is the return of billions of trees to previously forested or tree-dominated landscapes through forest and landscape restoration (FLR), offering numerous benefits for global climate-change mitigation. The Seeds for Trees event was divided into two subsessions, each featuring three speakers followed by a panel discussion on a wide range of topics, including seed systems fit for purpose for FLR, establishing farmland and home garden seed sources for priority high value and threatened tree species. These presentations were supported with case studies from a dozen countries.  

A specific “Call to action for fit-for-purpose and resilient native tree seed systems that meet global FLR targets during the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” was issued by forestry and genetic resource experts from ten Asian and African countries who attended the side event. The call for action has identified the following priority action needs for strengthening supply chains for quality seed of native tree species:  

1. For the restoration targets to be met, either the seed production and supply mechanisms need to be urgently boosted, or the ambitions will have to be tempered in terms of area targets with an emphasis on quality instead.  
2. Rapidly developing tree seed supply requires collaborative efforts among all stakeholders. 
3. Forest-dependent men and women in local communities should be at the heart of programmes focused on developing seed supply for restoration.  
4. Restoration practitioners need guidance on selecting fit-for-purpose, site-adapted germplasm for their projects and programmes in a changing climate.  
5. Financial investments need to be increased to support the development of supply and market chains for native species in order to meet FLR needs.  
6. Assisted natural regeneration is a cost-effective way of scaling-up restoration, but the genetic quality of seed and seed sources still requires attention. 

While the Seeds for Trees event discussed specific restoration projects, the TEER side event addressed the financial aspects. As explained by Christophe Besacier, Team Leader for the FLRM of FAO, under the TEER, managers are provided with standardized tools and templates, available in Chinese, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish on the FAO website, which aim to facilitate public and private investment for restoration by using a common framework for collecting data on the costs and benefits of ecosystem restoration. Valentina Garavaglia, a consultant at FAO, presented the results of the first data collection. Vincent Gitz, Director of Programmes and Platforms and Director of Latin America at CIFOR–ICRAF, emphasized the importance of enlarging the TEER data collection, stating that he was committed to promoting the TEER database through the new Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) Partnership, which was launched at the World Forestry Congress. “All restoration projects should collect data on costs and benefits,” he said.  

Fred Stolle, Deputy Director of Forests at WRI, showed how foundations such as TerraFund could benefit from economic data on restoration projects. TEER will also help make the business case for restoration initiatives, as noted by Benjamin Singer, Senior Forest & Land-Use Specialist at the Green Climate Fund. He highlighted the importance of a good track record on costs, benefits and risks to attract private investment.  

“To attract investment in restoration, we need to show investors – both public and private – that the benefits [of ecosystem restoration] are higher than the costs,” said Christophe Besacier. 

The FLRM participated in both events where ongoing projects were discussed, as well as the initiatives that work to facilitate these urgent needs in the most scientifically and well-informed ways.  

You may watch the Seeds for Trees side event here.  

You may watch the TEER side event here.  

Alexandre Meybeck (CIFOR), Marius Ekué (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), Riina Jalonen (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT) and Daniella Silva (CIFOR)