In a world where we have the potential to restore over 2 billion hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded landscapes, the harrowing reality remains that every minute, we cut down 15 ha of trees. This dichotomy was assessed during Session 3 of Subtheme 2: ‘’Global restoration programmes during the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’’ which took place on 3 May 2022 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.  

Tiina Vähänen, Deputy Director of FAO’s Forestry Division, introduced the session with a background on the UN Decade strategy, presenting the various barriers to the full achievement of the UN Decade vision.  

The session, co-moderated by Adriana Vidal, Senior Forest Policy Officer at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Christophe Besacier, Team Leader of the Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism, consisted of two panels of country representatives and leading experts who showcased how restoration initiatives have pushed back against these barriers to create win-win solutions that feed the world and stop the degradation of forests.  

A lack of political and public awareness of forest and landscape restoration (FLR) strategies is one of the key obstacles, as described by Deborah Sue, Executive Director at the Ministry of Fiji, stating that Fiji has had successful FLR implementation, despite a lack of public awareness and engagement with native forests. Engagement of surrounding communities is crucial, such as in the Republic of Korea. Eun Sik Park, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau, described how locals were forming restoration groups to plant trees and aid the forests. Youth engagement is also central, as stated by Yugratna Srivastava, who leads the Youth Task Force under the UN Decade. She said that it did not make sense to talk about what will be happening in 30 years without having those who will be most affected at the table.  

Community efforts must be matched with political will in order to ensure that FLR efforts are sustained. With the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regaining control of 3.34 million hectares of land that had been illegally deforested in the past, Eve Bazaiba Masudi, Vice Prime Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, spoke about how the Democratic Republic of the Congo had worked with the Commission of Central African Forests to boost political will in restoration efforts. 

Jair Urriola Quiroz, Executive Secretary of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), further illustrated how national governments can work with international organizations, describing how a declaration at the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 inspired further efforts by CCAD to place greater emphasis on forests to eradicate poverty and prevent the mass extinction of species.  

In terms of the economic support for FLR projects, there is a need to adopt long-term ideals that recognize the benefits of restoring ecosystems. Her Excellency, Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, described collaborations with the African Union in creating the Blue Fund to protect the restoration of the Congo Basin. 

Alfred Gichu, Head of Forest Conservation at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Kenya, and Garo Batmanian, who leads the UN Decade Finance Task Force, further exemplified the importance of private sector inclusion to fund and advocate for FLR initiatives.  

Involvement of the private sector is a realistic objective: Reforest’Action, as presented by Stephane Hallaire, strives to utilize carbon finance opportunities to create a generation of “ecopreneurs”, who restore land while creating sustainable value chains.  

Ecosystem restoration is a social and ecological endeavour, as stated by Luc Gnacadja, who leads the UN Decade Science Task Force. Such sentiments, described by Chadi Mohanna, Director of the Rural Development and Natural Resources Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture, were mirrored in Lebanon, where restoration has been combined with social needs issues to recognize the variety of benefits that may be achieved through FLR.  

The UN Decade strives for a world where the interests of humans and nature are not conflicting, which recognizes that restoration initiatives support the land and ecosystems central to human life itself.  

You can watch the recording of the session here.  

Christophe Besacier (FAO), Camila Mosier-Giovine (FAO)