By Kirsty Chibovero
The UN report finds that 252 million hectares (ha) across 149 countries are being restored, creating more than one million green jobs – the largest documented global restoration effort to date.
To reach 2030 commitments, action must rapidly increase, with a particular focus on freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, and annual restoration finance must more than quadruple. This investment could generate up to an estimated 32 million new jobs worldwide by 2030.
Published midway through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), the findings form the first comprehensive global assessment of progress against commitments to restore around one billion hectares and the Kunming-Montreal target of having at least 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems under restoration by 2030.
“Five years into the UN Decade, the message is clear: restoration works,” said Director-General QU Dongyu of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). “Healthy ecosystems are vital for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.”
“Today, we are witnessing the makings of one of the largest movements for nature in recorded history,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “Yet, at the halfway point of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, we are still not restoring nature at the scale or speed required.”
Asia accounts for 192.2 million ha of the documented area under restoration, followed by Africa with 36.3 million ha and Europe with 9.1 million ha. These figures do not rank performance; they reflect the scale of activity, regional land area and monitoring capacity.
Research indicates that restoring just 15 per cent of global priority areas could capture and store 30 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent emissions since the industrial revolution and help avoid 60 per cent of species extinctions. Documented successes among UN World Restoration Flagships include the recovery of mountain gorillas, jaguars, snow leopards and Ganges River dolphins.
Progress varies. Restoration of terrestrial ecosystems has reached nearly half the global target, with China reporting the largest area (127.4 million ha) and substantial areas also documented in Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
Progress is far more limited in freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, which are degrading at the fastest rates. Only 11 million ha of freshwater and 5.7 million ha of marine and coastal ecosystems are documented as under restoration. Momentum is growing, however: the share of Parties reporting wetland restoration programmes has risen from 8 per cent to 54 per cent since 2022. The report cautions that limited reporting may mean aquatic restoration is underestimated.
Annual restoration finance must rise from US$64 billion to US$296 billion by 2030. The largest needs are in agroforestry (US$87 billion), restorative reforestation (US$52 billion), peatland restoration (US$44 billion) and seagrass restoration (US$28 billion).
“We cannot expect to fix nature with one hand while we destroy it with the other one,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat. “Governments must address the drivers of ecosystem degradation and invest in monitoring mechanisms to ensure the durability of the restoration movement to date.”
Beyond 2030, restoration must be sustained long enough to enable recovery, with secure tenure and respect for the rights, knowledge and leadership of Indigenous Peoples and other rights-holders essential to lasting results. The report argues that the next phase must move beyond individual projects towards “restoration economies” capable of sustaining ecological recovery, livelihoods and long-term value at scale.
Source: FAO, News, 29 October 2026 (fao.org)
