Around 12% (two billion hectares) of the earth's terrestrial surface is degraded. Degraded lands cost 10% of Global GDP per annum. Forest landscape restoration is a critical strategy for tackling critical societal challenges of our time, including global food security, access to clean water, soil erosion, climate change, loss of biodiversity and desertification.
Bioversity International and members of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration are working to ensure restoration maximises delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Political committment through The Bonn Challenge, Initiative 20x20, AFR100 and notably, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (2011-2020) have set ambitious targets on restoration. However using the right native trees adapted to the local environment, and appropriate to maximize restoration outcomes are vital. The knowledge and capacity on how to use native tree diversity to maximize delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals is currently lacking in many countries.