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Ecosystem restoration

The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) challenges everyone to massively scale up restoration efforts that breathe new life into our degraded ecosystems. Restoring our planet’s imperilled ecosystems intrinsically connects us with a chance at a healthier future. We will work together to bring life and function back to our scarred ecosystems through extensive and pro-active restoration – rebuilding degraded areas to improve habitat for wildlife, protect our soils and watersheds, support economic resiliency, and better confront a changing climate.

About Ecosystem restoration

Ecosystem restoration manifests through actions as varied as new mangroves, grass or other plantings, natural or assisted regeneration, agroforestry, soil enhancement measures, or improved and sustainable management to accommodate a mosaic of land, aquatic, or marine uses.

Any degraded ecosystem including agricultural areas, savannah, wetlands, protected wildlife reserves, fisheries, managed plantations, riversides, coastal areas and many others may offer opportunities for improvement through restoration. Ecosystem restoration could focus on re-establishing ecological integrity on a hillside or a sea grass bed to the large-scale landscape restoration of a plateau or mountain range.

The tangible benefits of the Decade can be viewed through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as substantial Nature-based Solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, water and food security, poverty reduction, economic growth and biodiversity conservation.

$125 trillion

contribution of landscapes and marine ecosystem services every year to the global economy

Read the research paper

22 countries

are using the Restoration Barometer to report the progress of their restoration targets and more than 50 countries have endorsed it.

Learn more about the Barometer

IUCN's role?

Every government, community, conservation organisation and private enterprise will play a role in fulfilling the objectives of the Decade. The Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Environment Programme are the UN agencies tasked with facilitating its delivery. IUCN joins the two UN agencies along with the Global Landscapes Forum to form the consortium for the implementation of the Decade.

IUCN adopted WCC-2020-Res-035 in its last World Conservation Congress, where members made express requests to raise the ambition on ecosystem restoration in line with the CBD Post2020 global biodiversity framework, with specific support towards implementation.

As such, IUCN contributes to the Decade through (i) developing scientific underpinning to guide implementation of restoration activities, (ii) supporting monitoring through flagship tools including the Red List of Ecosystems and the Restoration Barometer, (iii) mobilising its constituency to action on the ground, and (iv) paving the way for global communities of action in all ecosystems.

As a farmer or a small landholder, you have the tremendous power to shape ecosystems. Use this power and join the planet’s biggest landscape restoration promise by becoming a part of the Bonn Challenge. The actions of one farmer can make a difference. The restorative actions of one million farmers, can remake the world.

The IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology is a hierarchical classification system that, in its upper levels, defines ecosystems by their convergent ecological functions and, in its lower levels, distinguishes ecosystems with contrasting assemblages of species engaged in those functions. This report describes the three upper levels of the hierarchy, which provide a framework for understanding and comparing the key ecological traits of functionally different ecosystems and their drivers. An understanding of these traits and drivers is essential to support ecosystem management.

IUCN spurs restoration action and monitoring by launching a typology of restoration interventions for ALL terrestrial ecosystem types including coasts and inland waters. The ecosystem types were derived from the  IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology  and the grouping of ecosystems for the  UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration .  The typology also aligns with existing or emerging classification systems, such as the one that will be used by the upcoming Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool developed under the  Global Mangrove Alliance .

IUCN is already spearheading science and practice on ecosystem restoration through its 70 years of work with members and partners around the world, in its role as the secretariat of the Bonn Challenge, and as founder and coordinator of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR).

IUCN’s Nature-based Solutions Group is forging inroads on restoration through flagship programmes like The Restoration Initiative, SUSTAIN, and Catalysing Private Sector Commitment to the Bonn Challenge, to name a few. Coupled with expertise in the application of the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) – the most widely used restoration planning resource of its kind – and with growing experience in restoration science, policy and capacity building, IUCN is well-positioned to support countries with the implementation of this Decade.

The Decade is also energising IUCN’s vast network of members, commissions, partners and experts, reinforcing our long-standing commitment to conserving and restoring ecosystems, and building on advances that we have already made to enable restoration. The stage is set to catalyse support, spur scientific research and mobilise the financial will to dramatically advance restoration on hundreds of millions of hectares in every type of ecosystem, from the mountaintops to the seafloor.

Using locally controlled funds to support the development of communities…

A new animation from GWI West Africa, one in a three-part series, explains how local development funds can provide long-term financing to communities who lose their livelihoods when the construction of dams forces them from their land.

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Pressing Questions About Ecosystem Restoration, Answered

• restoration
• agriculture
• deforestation

The world’s ecosystems are under threat.

Fires are turning biodiverse forests in California and wetlands in Argentina and Brazil into charred landscapes . The ocean is getting warmer and more acidic, bleaching colorful, fish-filled coral reefs across the Seychelles. The abuse of the soil, exacerbated by overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is damaging the long-term economic and ecological health of struggling farm communities in China.

These threats — such as commodity agriculture, climate change and overfishing — are specific to every land and seascape. But all forms of ecosystem degradation have one thing in common: When people hurt ecosystems, they also hurt economies, biodiversity and the climate.

The damage is reversible, though. Restoring  degraded ecosystems is not only possible, but it makes economic sense, too.

Thousands of organizations and millions of people — from entrepreneurs in South Africa to government officials in El Salvador to youth activists in the United States — have banded together to create the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , a 10-year effort to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. They are building on work from the past decade —  such as partnerships like AFR100 in Africa, where 30 countries pledged to restore an area of land the size of Egypt — and  are turning it into action on the ground.

Why is it Beneficial to Restore Degraded Ecosystems?

Restoring landscapes and marine ecosystems is urgent not only because they are home to countless plant and animals, but because the services they provide are worth an estimated $125 trillion every year to the global economy. Healthy ecosystems and landscapes support industries like farming, fishing, forestry and tourism, which employ 1.2 billion people . In the United States alone, ecosystem restoration is a $25 billion industry that employs 220,000 people, more than each of the coal, logging or steel industries. And globally, each $1 invested in restoring degraded landscapes can bring $7-30 in economic returns.

Healthy ecosystems are also a lynchpin in the fight against climate change, itself a major driver of ocean and landscape degradation. If nature were protected and restored at scale, it could provide more than one-third of the annual emissions reductions the world needs by 2030 to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees C (2.6 degrees F). The world’s forests alone store 1.5 times more carbon than the U.S. emits every year (and could soak up 23% of global CO2 emissions every year if we let them naturally regenerate).

Restoring ecosystems can also directly serve the world’s Indigenous people and communities, many of whom rely on natural resources for their livelihoods and cultural practices. The herding culture of Kenya’s Maasai people, for example, is only sustainable if the grassy rangelands they call home — and that feed their cattle — are constantly replenished.

How Can Critical Ecosystems Be Restored?

Successful restoration is all about embracing diversity: One comprehensive study identified 108 different ecosystems, and restoration techniques vary depending on the ecosystem and location. On farms, for example, people can plant trees to shade crops like coffee, dig terraces to halt the erosion of hills, or allow native vegetation to naturally regrow in exchange for payments for reinforced ecosystem services like clean water. In the ocean, people can reseed seagrass beds to store blue carbon, or grow coral polyps in underwater nurseries to rebuild habitat for valuable fish.

What Are Some Examples of Ecosystem Restoration?

So, what are the key ecosystems that are people are restoring, and how are they doing it? Five examples of ecosystem restoration in particular are critical for the health and safety of people, biodiversity and the climate.

1. Farmlands

Farmers are the backbone of rural economies and the global food system, and they are chief among the 3.2 billion people worldwide who suffer from land degradation. While the unsustainable practices of some of them — like slash-and-burn cultivation and the overapplication of chemical fertilizers and pesticides — have contributed to the problem, others are now restoring degraded farmland and surrounding landscapes to boost agricultural productivity.

By embracing approaches like agroforestry (trees on farms), silvopasture (trees on grazing land), and low-carbon agriculture (no-till farming and cover crops) across 150 million hectares of land, restoration could generate $85 billion in net benefits, provide $30–40 billion a year in extra income for smallholders, and supply food for nearly 200 million people.

In India’s small Sidhi District alone, restoring 75% of the land with 40 million tree saplings — many of which would go on and around farms to boost crop yields or in sustainable orchards — could bring $19 million to struggling rural communities.

Investors are starting to take notice of this opportunity: Across Latin America, impact investor 12Tree  has put more than $100 million into projects that protect natural forest while producing high-quality coffee, cocoa and jobs.

In 2020 alone, the world lost 12 million hectares of tropical forests, an area of land larger than Malawi. Especially concerning is the 12% increase in annual loss within biodiverse, carbon-storing, humid primary forests. Caused by the expansion of commodity agriculture, wildfires and a host of other human activities, tree cover loss has turned some of these forests, like Indonesia’s dense jungles, into sources of carbon emissions rather than carbon sinks.

But around the world, new forests are sprouting up thanks to tree planters and people who are helping trees regenerate naturally. The economic opportunity is too great to pass up: Fully investing in Ethiopia’s forest economy, for example, could deliver a $1.91 billion return .

In Brazil, pioneers like Bruno Mariani , whose company Symbiosis Investimentos is restoring the country’s damaged Atlantic Forest with native trees like the ipê-felpudo and pau brasil , are showing that sustainable income and protecting the environment can go hand-in-hand. A monitoring platform, the Brazilian Restoration and Reforestation Observatory , is collecting data to show where these efforts are making an impact. Today, more than 11 million hectares of forest are naturally regenerating throughout the country, and local project developers are planting and maintaining new trees across dozens of areas.

3. Grasslands

Sometimes, trees aren’t the solution. The world’s grassland ecosystems, covering 31% to 43% of Earth's land , are home to countless bird and plant species and store carbon in their deep, interlocking root systems and soils. These ecosystems, which many of the world’s 200 million pastoralists need to feed their livestock, are undervalued, often plowed over for farming, sacrificed to poorly planned tree-planting campaigns, or damaged by overgrazing.

When livestock aren’t managed sustainably, the soil compacts, the grass stops growing and the desert starts spreading. In Mexico’s Chihuahua Desert, cattle ranchers are working with organizations like Pronatura , Pasticultores del Desierto and American Bird Conservancy to better manage 100,000 hectares of native grasslands. Preventing cattle from grazing on certain areas at certain times gives grasses enough time to grow back and provides a haven for migrating birds. It makes economic sense for the ranchers, too: With a healthy ecosystem, cattle have more feed.

4. Peatlands

The expansion of oil palm plantations and other farms in places like Indonesia threaten peatlands,  swampy ecosystems formed by decomposing plant matter. That’s bad news for the climate: When a hectare of carbon-rich peatland is drained, it has roughly the same climate-warming effect of burning 6,000 gallons of gasoline. In 2015, when 52% of forest fires in Indonesia occurred on drained peatlands, more than 100,000 people prematurely died (many from acute respiratory infections). The economy suffered a loss of $16 billion .

In 2016, mounting pressure from civil society forced the Indonesian government into action, and they committed to rewet and protect 2.6 million hectares of damaged peatlands within five years. While peatlands continue to burn — with more than 500,000 hectares destroyed in 2019 alone — there are many success stories of people managing their peatlands without burning them. For example, by damming the canals that originally drained and dried part of Central Kalimantan’s peatlands , local people are now sustainably managing more than 20,000 hectares and lowering the risk of future fires.

5. Ocean and Coasts

The ocean also is facing unprecedented challenges: Only 3% of it is unaffected by humans. Between 1970 and 2000 , seagrass meadows, which support 20% of the world’s largest fisheries, declined by roughly 30%, while mangrove forests, which help reduce flooding and coastal erosion, declined by 35% as coastal development and demand for charcoal expanded. Since the 1870s, half of reefs’ coral cover , which protect the homes of more than 500 million people , has died. Considering that some of these “blue carbon” ecosystems can store up to 10 times more carbon than the same expanse of forest, their declining health is concerning.

Mangroves, a special type of ecosystem where the sea and the land meet, are especially important for fisheries and protecting coastal communities against sea level rise. Every $1 invested in protecting and restoring them leads to $3 in benefits.

In Senegal’s Casamance delta, NGO Océanium and the Livelihoods Funds have mobilized 100,000 people to restore more than 10,000 hectares of mangroves — and produce an extra 18,000 tons of fish annually to boost local food security. The newly planted mangrove saplings have brought at least one positive impact to 95% of local people. In addition to protected coasts and improved food security, some farmers experienced increased rice yields in freshwater paddies that are now protected from salty ocean water.

How Can the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Be Successful?

The restoration commitments that governments and corporations have for 2030 are impressive: restoring 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes, protecting and growing 1 trillion trees, expanding mangroves by 20% and sustainably managing 30 million square kilometers of the ocean.

The secret to global success, however, lies in boosting the capacity of local leaders. First, decision-makers from local and regional governments, NGOs, and small businesses need access to lessons that past restoration projects have learned, as well as monitoring data that can help them prove their success to funders and inspire others to replicate their accomplishments.

Second, they need strong public incentives and government policies that provide technical expertise and pay them for the ecosystem services they are protecting and restoring.

And finally, thousands of restoration project developers and entrepreneurs need access to training, mentorship, and networks that can help them tap into the billions of dollars of private finance earmarked for ecosystem restoration.

Kenyan Nobel Prize laureate Wangari Maathai once said that “It is the little things that citizens do that will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.” By investing in millions of people whose own “little thing” is restoring ecosystems near and far, we can turn the dream of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration into a more sustainable future for all.

Do you want to learn more about how we’re helping people restore the world’s ecosystems? Learn more about our work on forest and landscape restoration, and sign up for our newsletter.

The author would like to thank Katie Flanagan, Luciana Gallardo Lomeli, and Maria Potouroglou for their input.

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Four reasons why restoring nature is the most important endeavour of our time

Ecologist and PhD Researcher, Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield

Disclosure statement

Jake M. Robinson (@_jake_robinson) receives funding for his PhD from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). He is affiliated with inVIVO Planetary Health (@inVIVO_Planet), the Healthy Urban Microbiome Initiative (Twitter: @HUMIglobal) and Greener Practice (@GreenerPractice).

University of Sheffield provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.

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Ecosystem degradation is a global phenomenon. It is expected that by 2050, 95% of Earth’s land will be degraded. A whopping 24 billion tons of soil have already been eroded by unsustainable agricultural practices. This land degradation is the leading cause of losses of ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and climate regulation. These functions sustain life on Earth.

It is recognised that this constitutes a crisis. At a UN summit this September, more than 70 world leaders – bar those from the US, China or Brazil – signed the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature , promising to clamp down on pollution, eliminate the dumping of plastic waste and strengthen environmental agreements worldwide. This is a good step, but as UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed noted at the event, to “rescue the planet’s fragile tapestry of life, we need vastly more ambition and action”.

Next year will mark the start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , aimed at addressing the enormous task of restoring degraded habitats across the planet. Against a backdrop of ecological crisis, this declaration is a chance to revive our life support system – the natural world. The UN has highlighted several important actions to empower a global restoration movement, such as investment in restoration and research, celebrating leadership, shifting behaviours and building up the next generation.

There is no doubt this is an ambitious plan. But it must be translated into action. Such pledges can actually work against action by creating the illusion that something is being done. There is often a gap between rhetoric and reality. Indeed, the world’s nations have failed to fully achieve any of the 20 global biodiversity targets set by the UN a decade ago. Humanity is at a crossroads. What we decide to do now will affect many future generations to come.

New research is constantly demonstrating the urgency of the situation. One recent study focusing on the consequences of indiscriminate deforestation , for example, suggests we have a less than 10% probability of surviving the next 20-40 years without facing a catastrophic collapse if we remain on our current trajectory.

Here, I summarise four key reasons why ecological restoration is the most important endeavour of our time. If we are to reverse the ecological crisis that we are currently facing, and protect biodiversity for itself and for future generations, we must turn pledges into immediate action and restore our ecosystems on a global level.

1. Healthy soils sustain life on Earth

Our food systems depend on healthy soils. The revival of plants, crops and forests depends on the revival of degraded soils. This depends on the restoration of the complex relationships between the soil, the plants and a plethora of microbes, including fungi, bacteria and viruses .

Healthy soils thrive with these microscopic lifeforms: they are essential for plant growth and protection against diseases. Soil degradation not only threatens the intrinsic value of the ecosystems, but also our ability to produce healthy and sustainable foods. And protecting and reviving our soils and their microbial friends is key not only for humans, but for the diverse yet declining plant and animal species that depend on them.

2. Our relationship with nature is failing

Ecosystem degradation is contributing to our failing relationship with nature: people’s accepted view of ecological conditions are continually lowered, a phenomenon known as shifting baseline syndrome .

Restoring our emotional connection to nature (known as “nature connectedness”) is therefore important. People who feel more connected to nature are more likely to engage with actions such as wildlife conservation, recycling, and supporting environmental organisations. These are essential to reverse the ecological and climate crises we face. Importantly, nature connectedness can increase over time through frequent nature engagement.

Simple actions such as acknowledging the good things you see in nature each day, whether it be a robin’s dawn chorus, or the vibrant colours of wildflowers, can do this. Check out these pathways to achieving a closer connection with nature .

3. Indigenous cultures and knowledge is being lost

Indigenous culture is intimately connected to the land. The erosion of ecosystems can therefore result in the erosion of culture – including knowledge and language . This knowledge is often hyper-localised and has evolved over thousands of years. It is vital to the health of many ecosystems and the livelihoods of communities across the globe.

Ecological restoration can help to sustain the rich diversity of human cultures on our planet by supporting relationships between humans and the environment that are mutually advantageous. Protecting the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and supporting indigenous research leadership has an important role to play in this process. This includes dismantling the view that traditional ecological knowledge is simply a data source that can be extracted.

Ecological restoration should ideally be viewed as reciprocal: a mutually beneficial relationship. Reciprocity is the basis for relationships in many indigenous cultures, and will be fundamental to long-term, successful restoration.

4. Human health is dependent on ecosystem health

The restoration of ecosystems is intrinsically linked to the restoration of human health. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far caused over a million deaths worldwide, is a poignant reminder of how ecosystem degradation can contribute to the emergence and spread of novel pathogens . To combat these emerging global conditions and protect the lives of future generations, we need to protect and restore our habitats and biodiversity.

In addition, biodiversity loss could be making us sick . Restoring environmental microbiomes (the diverse networks of microbes in a given environment) through revegetation may have an important impact on our immune systems. My research explores the relationship between the environment, the microbiome and human health. Through landscape design and restoration , we may be able to help restore microbial relationships, and as a result, our health and wellbeing.

As Robin Wall Kimmerer, professor of environmental and forest biology, eloquently articulated in her book Braiding Sweetgrass : “As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”

Let’s make the next decade the ecologically transformative movement that our planet so desperately needs.

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Ecosystem Restoration and Species Recovery Benefit People and Planet

About the author, hazel thornton.

Hazel Thornton is Senior Programme Officer, Nature Restored, United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

3 March 2022

This year’s observance of World Wildlife Day—3 March 2022—focuses on the recovery of key species and the restoration of the planet’s ecosystems. This important theme provides us with the opportunity to reflect on restoration actions and impact so far, and how we can and must support people and nature in the future.

From forests to farmlands, mountains to oceans, our ecosystems, both modified and natural, provide multiple environmental, economic and social benefits for people and for nature. Our forests support an estimated 80 per cent of all amphibian species, 75 per cent of all bird species and 68 per cent of all mammal species . Our freshwater bodies are home to an estimated one third of vertebrate species and 10 per cent of all known species . Mountain ecosystems host roughly half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots , while our oceans provide 99 per cent of the world’s living space . These diverse ecosystems and their species provide us with a range of essential ecosystem services—from biodiversity and climate change adaptation and mitigation, to support for our economies, health and security.

However, these ecosystems and their ability to deliver these ecosystem services are being damaged, degraded and destroyed, which directly impacts people and nature. Between 2015 and 2020, we lost approximately 10 million hectares of forests per year, 1  and globally more than two thirds of our ocean ecosystems are now damaged, degraded or modified. 2  On a finer scale, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species lists over 8,400 species as critically endangered and nearly 30,000 species as endangered or vulnerable.

This loss of ecosystems and species leads to the loss of benefits for people and nature. From an economic perspective, it is estimated that $10 trillion in global GDP could be lost by 2050 if ecosystem services continue to decline . One third of commercial fish stocks are now overfished, 3 which threatens the livelihoods of over 60 million fishers globally . 4  Furthermore, an estimated 1.4 billion livelihoods, ranging from food and drinks to energy and water, are directly reliant on access to fresh water. 5

We need healthy and productive ecosystems to benefit from the multiple environmental, economic and social benefits they provide. Ecosystem restoration offers the opportunity to effectively halt and reverse degradation, improve ecosystem services and recover biodiversity. It is estimated that 60 per cent of expected species extinctions could be avoided through the effective restoration of 15 per cent of converted lands. 6 Furthermore, the protection of existing intact ecosystems and the restoration of degraded ecosystems has the potential to contribute to over one third of total climate change mitigation required by 2030 .

Around the world there are a growing number of examples of the environmental, economic and social benefits of restoring ecosystems and species. In Mobile Bay, Alabama, United States the restoration of oyster reefs led to a 53–91 per cent reduction in wave height and energy at the shoreline, while the local economy has benefited from improved seafood and greater fish stocks. 7  And, looking forward, the Great Green Wall initiative aims to combine restoration of 100 million hectares of degraded land with the promotion of peace and security across the Sahel.

This year will feature various crucial political moments to compel and catalyse action for the recovery of our key species and the restoration of our ecosystems, including meetings on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework , the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Stockholm+50 , among others. Discussions, commitments and implementation throughout the year will contribute towards the recovery of species and ecosystems, as well as the achievement of multiple international goals and targets. Such efforts align directly with the ambition and vision of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , set to run until 2030. Stemming from strong political will and backed by the private sector, non-governmental organizations, scientists and practitioners, this campaign aims to build a new global momentum around the core ambition of ecosystem restoration at regional, national and global scales. 

This is also a key year for several other pivotal International Decade campaigns aimed at supporting the recovery of species and ecosystems. The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, for example, calls upon actors to address the degradation of our ocean and coastal ecosystems and improve science for decision-making. The International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development  drives us forward on the conservation, management and restoration of our freshwater ecosystems and its unique freshwater flora and fauna. And, overarchingly, the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) compels us to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the full breadth of SDGs.

All of these efforts demonstrate how the international community is working to ensure positive outcomes for people and nature at the same time, and everyone has a role to play. From local efforts to plant trees and restore intricate waterways, to immense multinational restoration efforts that involve huge swathes of our land and seascapes, there is an opportunity for us all to act now to support, engage and implement impact.

United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre

To enable global transformation to a sustainable future, the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) provides strategic leadership, technical expertise and evidence-based support to our partners on effective ecosystem restoration and species recovery. We aim to support the global community through legal, policy and planning frameworks that can scale-up efficient action to achieve restoration ambitions at local to global scales; support and deliver an accessible knowledge base allowing planners and practitioners to prioritize effective restoration efforts that deliver measurable, long-term environmental, social and economic benefits; and support monitoring to track and incentivize effective global restoration efforts and enhance adaptive management. Notes

1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people Rome, 2020), p. 13. Available at:  https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8642en  

2 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Eduardo Sonnewend Brondízio and others, eds., Global assessment report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Bonn, Germany, IPBES, 2018), p. XXVIII. Available at https://www.ipbes.net/global-assessment

3 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020. Sustainability in action. (Rome, 2020), p. 54. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9229en

4 Ibid., p. 146

5  United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 6 Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation. Executive Summary , p. 12. Available at: https://www.unwater.org/app/uploads/2018/05/UN-Water_SDG6_Synthesis_Report_2018_Executive_Summary_ENG.pdf

6  Bernardo B.N. Strassburg and others, “Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration”,  Nature 586(7831), 724-729. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2784-9

7 Timm Kroeger, “Dollars and Sense: Economic Benefits and Impacts from two Oyster Reef Restoration Projects in the Northern Gulf of Mexico”, The Nature Conservancy, 2012, p.7. Available at: http://www.oyster-restoration.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oyster-restoration-study-kroeger.pdf

The UN Chronicle  is not an official record. It is privileged to host senior United Nations officials as well as distinguished contributors from outside the United Nations system whose views are not necessarily those of the United Nations. Similarly, the boundaries and names shown, and the designations used, in maps or articles do not necessarily imply endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

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Ecosystem Restoration Playbook

Photo by dirk von loen-wagner on Unsplash

People and the planet are only as healthy as the ecosystems we all depend on. Bringing degraded ecosystems back to life – for example by planting trees, cleaning up riverbanks, or simply giving nature space to recover – increases their benefits to society and biodiversity. Without reviving ecosystems, we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Climate Agreement. But ecosystems are also complex and highly varied, and their restoration needs careful planning and patient implementation.

To encourage the revival of ecosystems everywhere, UNEP has published a practical guide to ecosystem restoration. Released at the start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, the Ecosystem Restoration Playbook provides an introduction to the range of actions that can slow and halt the degradation of ecosystems and foster their recovery.

Designed for all interested individuals and stakeholder groups, the guide outlines three pathways to getting involved in ecosystem restoration during the UN Decade and beyond:

• Taking action such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project
• Making smart choices like buying only sustainable products and changing diets
• Raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration

The 21-page guide describes approaches to restoring eight key types of  ecosystems  – forests, farmlands, grassland and savannahs, rivers and lakes, oceans and coasts, towns and cities, peatlands, and mountains. It also lays out how all parts of society – from individuals and community groups to businesses and governments – can become part of #GenerationRestoration, a global movement to restore ecosystems everywhere for the good of people and nature.

Download the guide

Join #GenerationRestoration

Frontiers for Young Minds

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Ecosystem Restoration: What, Why, How, and Where?

Our world contains many ecosystems, from tropical forests to coral reefs to urban parks. Ecosystems help us in important ways, including cleaning our air and water, storing carbon, and producing food. People have been shaping most ecosystems for at least 12,000 years. Human impact has become so intense that many ecosystems are now threatened. That is why the United Nations has decided that the next 10 years are the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. But what is ecosystem restoration and how do we do it? In this article, we will tell you why ecosystem restoration is important and why it can be difficult. We will explain how it can be done well, and give examples from a range of projects. Successful restoration must include local people and requires lots of data. Restoration should not always return ecosystems back to what they were like once before.

Have you ever wondered how you can help the ecosystems around you? Or why they might need help?

Many human activities affect Earth’s natural ecosystems , including the foods we eat, the clothes we wear, and the things we do. People have been changing ecosystems around the world for more than 12,000 years—for example, by hunting animals, cutting down forests, introducing new species, and draining wetlands [ 1 ]. In the last 250 years, human impacts have become much bigger. One fifth of the world’s land has been degraded (harmed), which affects the livelihood or health of 3.2 billion people and makes animal, plant, and fungus species go extinct . That is why the United Nations (UN) declared the next 10 years the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration . Countries are working together to improve ecosystems for both people and nature. This is an exciting time for ecosystem restoration! But what does ecosystem restoration mean, and how is it done?

Why Do Ecosystems Need Restoring?

Ecosystems provide us with many benefits. They clean our water and air, and they are home to many organisms, including plant species used in medicines. Ecosystems store carbon, so they combat climate change. Healthy ecosystems can cope with, and bounce back from, natural events like volcanic eruptions, landslides, hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.

People can degrade ecosystems in many ways, through pollution, climate change, overgrazing by livestock, and biodiversity loss. Degraded ecosystems do not recover as well as healthy ones. A downward spiral of ecosystem degradation can result. Over time, ecosystems can become so damaged that they cannot recover without help. This can reverse their benefits—degraded ecosystems can pollute water and release carbon. Ecosystem restoration aims to get degraded ecosystems back on track.

How Do We Know What to Aim For?

To restore an ecosystem, we need to know what the ecosystem was like when it was healthy. For example, we can plant the original tree species in a forest that was cut down, or flood wetlands that were drained. If we do not have a record of the previous state of an ecosystem, we can study healthy ecosystems of the same type. Satellite pictures can show us how ecosystems have changed over time. Talking to indigenous peoples or local people who know the area best can also provide important information.

To look back in time, scientists can also study the mud. By studying tiny fossils of pollen or algae to understand when they entered the mud, or by studying the chemistry of the soil, scientists can obtain clues telling us about what ecosystems were like before humans came along. This method was used to help restore the Coorong (pronounced “koo-rong”), a protected wetland near the sea in Australia. The Coorong is home to a group of Indigenous people called the Ngarrindjeri Nation (“en-gar-rin-dee-jeeri”). The Coorong is also used for fishing, farming, and leisure. Using clues from the mud, scientists found that this wetland had become drier than it has been for more than 7,000 years! It had become too salty for many plant and animal species to live in. The ecosystem is now being restored—the flow of fresh water to the Coorong is increasing and species are starting to return .

Many ecosystems are so damaged that we cannot restore them to what they used to be. And as the climate changes, ecosystems must change too. Many scientists argue that we should rehabilitate ecosystems instead of restoring them. This means adapting an ecosystem so that it copes with today’s conditions. After all, humans are here to stay.

How Does Ecosystem Restoration Work?

People around the world are repairing the damage done to degraded ecosystems. Ecosystem restoration projects can take many forms and can apply to ecosystems of various types and sizes. One project may focus on a single stream; another may span multiple countries. Projects often start by removing the thing that is causing the damage in the first place. For instance, keeping deer out of a forest, to protect young trees from being eaten, may allow the forest to grow again. Stopping people from taking peat from a wetland for compost or fuel can allow the wetland to recover. Sometimes this is enough, and the ecosystem restores itself. But sometimes we need a more hands-on approach to ecosystem restoration. We may need to bring back native species or change the land surface.

There are many ecosystem restoration projects happening all over the world ( Figure 1 ). For example, beavers have been restored to the River Otter in Devon, England. Beavers are ecosystem engineers —they build small dams, which create ponds full of wildlife. After only 5 years, many beaver dams have been built on the River Otter. These dams have increased the number of fish and have stopped a village from flooding, protecting local people and their homes . Another beaver project was undertaken in Knapdale Forest, Scotland ( Figure 2 ). There, beavers have built canals, supporting animals, and water-plants [ 2 ].

• Figure 1 - Ecosystem restoration projects are occurring around the world.
• Projects mentioned in the text are shown and labeled in blue. Others are shown in pink. More information about each project is included in the interactive version of this map, available at https://obaines.github.io/frontiers_restoration/restoration_map.html .

• Figure 2 - The benefits of the beaver reintroduction in Loch Collie Bharr, Knapdale, Scotland.
• Beavers create new wetland habitats by building dams and shape the ecosystem around them [Image credit (top left): Katie Smith].

Animals have also been brought back into larger areas. Wolves were missing from Yellowstone National Park (USA) since the 1920s. Without wolves eating elk, the elk multiplied. They ate too much vegetation, destroying the habitats of other animals. Without the protection of plants, riverbanks eroded and the river became wider and more damaging. In the 1990s, wolves were brought back. Now there are fewer elk, and the vegetation has recovered. Habitats are more diverse again—many animal species, including birds, beavers, and bison, have returned to Yellowstone. Plants have stabilized the riverbanks, so the river and floodplain are healthier [ 3 ].

The Great Green Wall project is very large. It aims to plant a wall of local plants in 11 countries, across the entire width of Africa. The project will restore 100 million hectares of degraded land in the Sahel, a dry ecosystem on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The project aims to increase food, water, and energy supplies. It will create 10 million green jobs by 2030, and improve gender equality. Between 2007 and 2020, 18 million hectares have been restored—that is over 25 million football pitches !

Where Do Humans Fit in?

The most successful ecosystem restoration projects tend to involve local people, including Indigenous peoples. One example is in the Chiquitania region of Bolivia, South America. There, scientists are working with the Indigenous Chiquitano (“chic-ee-tan-no”) people to restore dry forests . Seasonal dry forests are important ecosystems that store carbon and are home to unique species such as jaguars and prickly acacia trees. Indigenous peoples rely on nature and often have a close relationship with it. So, restoration projects can benefit from their knowledge .

Towns and cities can also be thought of as ecosystems! They only cover 1% of the Earth, but more than half of all people live in them. When they are healthy, these urban ecosystems bring many benefits. Urban ecosystems can clean air, soil, and water, and cool cities during heatwaves. Parks, urban forests, green roofs, and street trees all help. They are good for human physical and mental health, encouraging us to get outside, and be active. People are also protected from natural hazards such as flooding.

In the city of Shanghai, China, the government realized that Suzhou Creek was very polluted—it was smelly and no fish had been seen since 1970. In 2003, reed beds and plant ponds were created. Machines put oxygen back into the water. Fish, plants, and insects now thrive there. People living nearby can enjoy this ecosystem and learn about restoration [ 4 ]! Another project, in Nottingham, England, aims to turn an old shopping center into a new urban green-space ( Figure 3 ). Urban ecosystem restoration will help our future. We can improve where we live, for both humans and nature.

• Figure 3 - Broadmarsh Reimagined (Nottingham, England).
• An artist’s painting of a future urban ecosystem where the Broadmarsh Shopping Center once was. Trees, shrubs, flowers, grassland, and ponds will be created, allowing wildlife to live in the city center and providing green-space for people to enjoy (Image credit: Influence https://www.influence.co.uk/ ).

Restoring Ecosystems For the Future

The Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to deliver restoration projects across the world over the next 10 years. Ten years to restore ecosystems might seem like a long time, but it is not. Trees can grow for hundreds of years! In fact, a big problem with restoration is how little time we have. To protect biodiversity and slow down climate change, we need healthy ecosystems. We need to act quickly and involve as many people as possible, including Indigenous peoples and young people. Working with local communities is key to these projects.

Young people have the most to lose and the most to gain. Perhaps you can get involved with a project near you!

Ecosystem : ↑ A group of organisms and the physical environment where they live (rock, soils, streams, etc.), functioning as a unit.

Ecosystem Restoration : ↑ Making an ecosystem work as well as it used to. This can mean changing it back to the way it was, or helping it adapt to a new situation.

Biodiversity : ↑ The variety of life on Earth, including all the plants, animals, and fungi that live in an environment.

Ecosystem Degradation : ↑ When an ecosystem breaks down and works less well over time.

Indigenous Peoples : ↑ Groups of people with ancient ties to a location that has unique value to them and is part of their identity.

Ecosystem Engineers : ↑ Species that create, change, maintain, and destroy habitats. These organisms have a big impact on those around them and on the wider landscape.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that this study received funding from British Geological Survey. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

CP, OB, ED, and LH are supported by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ENVISION Doctoral Training Partnership Grants. LH is also supported by the British Geological Survey. The authors thank Chloe Field for reviewing a draft of this article and for her helpful suggestions, and Katie Smith and Influence ( https://www.influence.co.uk/ ) for allowing us to reproduce their work [Beaver illustration ( Figure 2 ) and “Broadmarsh Reimagined” illustration ( Figure 3 ), respectively]. We would also like to thank the young reviewers for their enthusiasm and suggestions, which helped us make this article better.

[1] ↑ Ellis, E. C., Gauthier, N., Goldewijk, K. K., Bird, R. B., Boivin, N., Díaz, S., et al. 2021. People have shaped most of terrestrial nature for at least 12,000 years. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118:e2023483118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023483118

[2] ↑ Jones, S., and Campbell-Palmer, R. 2014. The Scottish Beaver Trial: The Story of Britain’s First Licensed Release Into the Wild. Available online at: https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/003_143__scottishbeavertrialfinalreport_dec2014_1417710135-3-compressed.pdf (accessed November 25, 2021).

[3] ↑ Beschta, R. L., and Ripple, W. J. 2012. The role of large predators in maintaining riparian plant communities and river morphology. Geomorphology . 157–158:88–98. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.04.042

[4] ↑ Li, X., Manman, C., Anderson, B. 2008. Design and performance of a water quality treatment wetland in a public park in Shanghai, China. Ecol. Eng. 35:18–24. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2008.07.007

Biodiversity 

Infographics.

Principles for ecosystem restoration to guide the United Nations Decade 2021–2030

News from the Columbia Climate School

Land Restoration Can Profoundly Benefit People and the Environment

Dale Willman

In these days, with environmental collapse seemingly lurking around every corner, there is a story of hope to be told by journalists across the world.

The science is clear: Many of the planet’s systems are in decline . The Earth is warming at unprecedented rates. Our aquifers are drying up. The world’s biodiversity is being lost at an alarming pace. And yet, scientists are finding that restoration of large tracts of land can perhaps help with many of these issues, because restoration can have multiple effects for the regional environment, and can even improve the lives of those living in the once-degraded land markedly better. Journalist and ecologist John D. Liu discussed some of these transformative effects during a recent webinar hosted by the Resilience Media Project at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

Liu was a journalist in China back in 1994 when he first visited the Loess Plateau . This was the birthplace of agriculture in China, where centuries of deforestation and unsustainable animal management led to erosion, silt overwhelming the Yellow River, and widespread degradation. By the time Liu arrived, he found the region had become a moonscape — hillsides denuded of vegetation, dust clouds blowing across the landscape, and a people hungry and desperate for change.

In the mid-1990s, the Chinese government launched a major restoration project in the Loess Plateau, hoping to return the land to its once-productive state. Lui documented the project for the World Bank, a major funder of the work. “It took them about four and a half years to design the project,” says Liu, because the scale of what they hoped to do was so large. And then the actual on the groundwork began. “After ten years, the results were transformational.” Those results included a return of vegetation. Once-barren hillsides were now green and lush. Dust clouds no longer plagued the region’s residents. Native plants and wildlife were once again in abundance. The soil health was being restored, with a healthy mix of soil microbes. And carbon was once again being taken out of the air and stored underground.

One of the most important changes, says Liu, was to the region’s hydrology. Before restoration, many of the region’s waterways had disappeared. The denuded landscape did not easily allow rainwater to percolate into the ground. Without plants to hold moisture, much of the rain that did fall on the ground quickly evaporated. But after restoration, that changed. “The rivers are running again, along with streams and springs.” The trees found in the area now take up some of that water, and through the process of transpiration, the plants help to cool the land. That has made the area more habitable for mammals, including humans.

Liu says all those changes then helped to transform the lives of the region’s residents. “They created functional agriculture. They created small businesses.” And this, he says, began to create community wealth. “It’s empowering for people. It raises them from desperate poverty and it gives them agency. Because they were involved in the restoration, it allowed them to see they are the method which changed their situation.”

With the success of the Loess Plateau project, scientists have begun similar work across the world — from Egypt to Portugal and Chile, and even in the United States, where a number of projects are now underway. In Burkina Faso, workers are planting trees as part of the Great Green Wall project, a massive effort to green the entire middle of the African continent. So far, more than 50,000 hectares have been planted across 10 countries on that continent.

When done properly, ecosystem restoration can offer many benefits that in turn address several urgent environmental issues at the same time. For instance, reconstructing mangrove forests along ocean shorelines can fight erosion by stabilizing the land. And the roots of the trees also provide habitat for many ocean species. But mangroves can also slow a tsunami, protecting people living near the coast. Their growth also captures carbon from the air, which in enough quantity could help reduce continued global warming.

Restoring and protecting natural systems, in other words, can offer a wide range of positive effects, and can help to repair the systems upon which we rely for our survival.

Restoration projects are powerful stories for journalists to tell, says Judith D. Schwartz . Schwartz is the author of the book, The Reindeer Chronicles . “Journalists can really offer a service in telling stories of how people are able to heal the landscapes of their communities.” And those stories are broad-based, she says. “They are economic and business stories. For instance, how a farm or winery committed to regenerative principles brings investment and energy into the community. They are science stories. You can do a story about why happy cattle means happy birds. They are local community stories — how farmers, gardeners and activists band together to support native pollinators.”

Restoration can also lead to stories about community and personal health. “Improved soil means less flooding and erosion and healthier food and people.” The scale of such projects can be daunting, so it’s important to remember that not every restoration project needs to be similar in scope to what happened on the Loess Plateau. Restoration can and does happen on much smaller scales. In urban areas, the use of permeable sidewalks can help to control runoff and flooding. Green roofs can help to retain water that otherwise would wash quickly down storm drains, and they also help to reduce the heat island effect that keeps cities as much as 10 degrees warmer in the summer than neighboring suburbs. And former brown fields in cities can be reclaimed and turned into sustainable housing, or in some cases urban gardens that feed people in the surrounding area. In smaller areas, degraded farmland can be turned into a nature preserve that restores the land while offering outdoor recreation for residents. In other words, ideas for restoration projects can be found everywhere – you just have to know how to look for them.

While restoration cannot by itself solve all the problems the natural world faces right now, it is quickly becoming a major tool for ecologists, farmers, ranchers, investors, and citizen activists. But before these stories of redemption can be told, communities need to understand what restoration projects might be able to accomplish for marginal lands in their area. And that, says Schwartz, is an important first step for journalists — to tell their communities about what might happen if a project is undertaken. “If people don’t know what’s possible, how can we begin to envision it?”

For journalists, be sure to watch our video, and check out the resources below. We also include potential story ideas you can use to jump-start your own restoration coverage.

One of the priorities of the Earth Institute’s new Initiative on Communication and Sustainability is improving the interface between journalists, scientific expertise and vulnerable communities. This is the latest webinar in a series I’m developing on covering factors that either boost or impede community and ecological resilience in the face of the landscape of hazards in this era of rapid change. More videos can be found on the Resilience Media Project page.

The United Nations will launch the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration next year. Their site is a great resource for information on restoration

Lots of resources are also available from IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management

Looking for additional experts to speak with? Try the Society for Ecological Restoration 

The Ecological Landscape Alliance has a speaker’s bureau

Chelsea Green Publishing (publisher of Judith’s book) has a number of books about restoration, among them Rewilding: Restoration by Letting Go

Ecological Restoration is a publication of the University of Wisconsin press

Restoring the Pacific Northwest: The Art and Science of Ecological restoration in Cascadia

Indigenous communities and local people and their role in restoration

Importance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands for the conservation of intact forest landscapes

Collective property rights reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Phosphorus is essential for agriculture, yet this important plant nutrient is increasingly being lost from soils around the world. The primary cause is soil erosion , reports an international research team led by the University of Basel. The study in the journal  Nature Communications  shows which continents and regions are most strongly affected.

Kiss the Ground , a documentary now streaming on Netflix. A great source for information, as well as potential story ideas involving your community

From the Public Broadcasting System:   The Age of Nature

CommonLand works to revitalize communities and regenerate landscapes.

Much of John D. Liu’s work can be found on this site . He is also on Twitter and Instagram . Also, a Recent presentation to the Trillion Trees Coalition.

Film: Green Gold – Regreening the Desert

Film: Lessons of the Loess Plateau

Film: Hope in a Changing Climate 

Restoration titles from publisher Chelsea Green:

Call of the Reed Warbler : A New Agriculture, A New Earth

Dirt to Soil : One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture

Bringing Back the Beaver : The Story of One Man’s Quest to Rewild Britain’s Waterways

Story Ideas

One way to find a great story on restoration is to begin right where you are. For example, you can check with your town/city planning board to see if they have any projects that could be reported through the frame restoration.

You could also begin with national/international resources, and then zero in on local implications. For instance, you can use EPA databases to find any Superfund locations nearby, and find out what plans are in place to reclaim those lands. If there are none, ask experts for ideas on how the property might be reclaimed. Find those knowledgeable who can estimate the ecological benefits of such restoration

Now, some notes on how to find and pursue stories on ecosystem restoration, compiled with our gratitude by Judith D. Schwartz:

Conservation organizations can lead you to local stories. Example: A quick search on the website of Trout Unlimited leads me to a project happening right in my back yard .

Audubon is another resource, since the number and diversity of birds is a key indicator of land health. I could pursue a local story: encouraging native plants around solar arrays to support bird life. Use the National Audubon Society’s Plants for Birds database to see some of the birds native in your area. Talk to a local Audubon representative about what species have disappeared over the years, and why. Ask them about degraded landscapes in the area, and what projects are being considered or are underway to repair them.

The Nature Conservancy has state/regional chapters . They are a good source for story ideas.

The same approach goes for a respected company that focuses on ecological repair.

Their list of projects brings me to a story in my region .

Look for local environmental organizations and see what they are doing. Here is one focused on my watershed.

If you’re doing a global, thematic article piece, or seek to connect local and global, there are numerous campaigns you might looks at. The UN has declared 2021-2030 the UN Decade On Ecosystem Restoration .

EverGreening the Earth is another project for restoration.

A great site for background on a broad array of science issues is The Conversation . They regularly do articles on restoration .

Podcasts, such as Earth Repair Radio , can be good sources of knowledge and inspiration. Investing in Regenerative Agriculture takes a business perspective.

Using the calendar is a great way to find ‘news pegs’ for a story. The international calendar is full of days devoted to aspects of ecological health. For example: World Habitat Day 10/5; World Migratory Bird Day 5/8; World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (6/17).

Ecosystem Restoration Camps is a non-profit with more than 20 projects underway around the world. Their site is a good place to start if they have work underway in your area. They also have an active Facebook page . And here is a Media Fact Sheet from the group

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This was the first I’ve heard of the Great Green Wall project. I recently learned about how the efficacy of projects funded by international aid becomes less predictable as the size of aid increases. Dr. Alain de Janvry suggests de-aggregation of aid might help us learn what is determinant of effective applications of aid, and then scale up. However, projects like the Great Green Wall seem a great target for large amounts of aid because their metrics are easily trackable and their interference in human life minimal if planned carefully. In comparison to food aid, poverty alleviation, and crisis response and recovery, such a homogeneous project might be the easiest way to avoid the hazards attached to a lot of international aid.

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Ecosystem restoration is vital for climate, biodiversity

Facing the triple threat of climate change, loss of nature and pollution, the world must deliver on its commitment to restore at least one billion degraded hectares of land in the next decade – an area about the size of China. Countries also need to add similar commitments for oceans, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).

The report,  Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate , highlights that humanity is using about  1.6 times  the amount of services that nature can provide sustainably.

“This report presents the case for why we must all throw our weight behind a global restoration effort. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, it sets out the crucial role played by ecosystems, from forests and farmland to rivers and oceans, and it charts the losses that result from a poor stewardship of the planet,” UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen, and FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, wrote in the report’s foreword.

“Degradation is already affecting the well-being of an estimated 3.2 billion people – that is 40 percent of the world’s population. Every single year we lose ecosystem services worth more than 10 percent of our global economic output,” they added, stressing that “massive gains await us” by reversing these trends.

The report was issued for World Environment Day on 5 June and the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 .

Ecosystem restoration is the process of halting and overturning degradation, resulting in cleaner air and water, extreme weather mitigation, better human health, and recovered biodiversity.

Actions that prevent, halt and reverse degradation are necessary to meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, according to the report.

WMO’s annual reports on the State of the Global Climate have persistently highlighted the impact of climate change on land and marine ecosystems.

Ocean acidification and marine heatwaves also weakening coral reefs, which shield coastlines and are vital marine ecosystems. In the last 30 years we have lost between 25 to 50 per cent of the world’s live coral, and it is predicted that by mid-century we could lose functional coral reef ecosystems around most of the world, according to the UNEP/FAO report.

In the last 100 years, half of the world’s wetlands have been degraded or drained. Peatlands only cover 3 per cent of the Earth but hold 30 per cent of all soil carbon. Restoring them by preventing their drainage and re-wetting degraded peatlands can be a significant step in climate mitigation.

Restoration, if combined with stopping further conversion of natural ecosystems, may help avoid  60 percent of expected biodiversity extinctions . It can be highly efficient in producing multiple economic, social and ecological benefits concurrently – for example, agroforestry alone has the potential to increase  food security for 1.3 billion people , while investments in agriculture, mangrove protection and water management will help adapt to climate change, with benefits around four times the original investment.

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• Published: 17 December 2018

Strategic approaches to restoring ecosystems can triple conservation gains and halve costs

• Bernardo B. N. Strassburg   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8598-3020 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Hawthorne L. Beyer 4 ,
• Renato Crouzeilles 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Alvaro Iribarrem 1 , 2 ,
• Felipe Barros 2 ,
• Marinez Ferreira de Siqueira 5 ,
• Andrea Sánchez-Tapia   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3521-4338 5 ,
• Andrew Balmford 6 ,
• Jerônimo Boelsums Barreto Sansevero 7 ,
• Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion 8 ,
• Eben North Broadbent 9 ,
• Robin L. Chazdon 2 , 10 , 11 ,
• Ary Oliveira Filho 12 ,
• Toby A. Gardner 2 , 13 ,
• Ascelin Gordon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0648-0346 14 ,
• Agnieszka Latawiec 1 , 2 , 15 , 16 ,
• Rafael Loyola   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5323-2735 17 ,
• Jean Paul Metzger   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0087-5240 18 ,
• Morena Mills 19 ,
• Hugh P. Possingham 20 , 21 ,
• Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues 22 ,
• Carlos Alberto de Mattos Scaramuzza 23 ,
• Fabio Rubio Scarano 3 , 24 ,
• Leandro Tambosi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5486-7310 25 &
• Maria Uriarte 26  

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume  3 ,  pages 62–70 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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• Conservation biology
• Restoration ecology

An Author Correction to this article was published on 23 April 2020

This article has been updated

International commitments for ecosystem restoration add up to one-quarter of the world’s arable land. Fulfilling them would ease global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity decline but could displace food production and impose financial costs on farmers. Here, we present a restoration prioritization approach capable of revealing these synergies and trade-offs, incorporating ecological and economic efficiencies of scale and modelling specific policy options. Using an actual large-scale restoration target of the Atlantic Forest hotspot, we show that our approach can deliver an eightfold increase in cost-effectiveness for biodiversity conservation compared with a baseline of non-systematic restoration. A compromise solution avoids 26% of the biome’s current extinction debt of 2,864 plant and animal species (an increase of 257% compared with the baseline). Moreover, this solution sequesters 1 billion tonnes of CO 2 -equivalent (a 105% increase) while reducing costs by US$28 billion (a 57% decrease). Seizing similar opportunities elsewhere would offer substantial contributions to some of the greatest challenges for humankind.

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Achieving the Kunming–Montreal global biodiversity targets for blue carbon ecosystems

Local conditions and policy design determine whether ecological compensation can achieve No Net Loss goals

An investment strategy to address biodiversity loss from agricultural expansion

Data availability.

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. A free online platform for integrated land-use planning including these datasets will be available at www.iis-rio.org/ilup from 2019.

Change history

23 april 2020.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support and inputs from the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity and experts from the Intergovernmental Science—Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). B.B.N.S. acknowledges that this work was supported by the Serrapilheira Institute (grant number Serra-1709-19329). B.B.N.S., R.C., A.I. and A.L. acknowledge the support of the German Ministry of the Environment’s International Climate Initiative. R.L. thanks the CNPq (grant number 308532/2014-7) and the O Boticário Group Foundation for Nature Protection (grant number PROG_0008_2013). F.B., M.F.S. and A.S.T. thank CNPq (grant numbers 441929/2016-8 and 461572/2014-1). M.F.S. and A.S.T. thank CAPES (grant number 88887.145924/2017-00). The authors also acknowledge the support of I. L. Lucas in the preparation of the final version of the manuscript.

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Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, Renato Crouzeilles, Alvaro Iribarrem & Agnieszka Latawiec

International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, Renato Crouzeilles, Alvaro Iribarrem, Felipe Barros, Robin L. Chazdon, Toby A. Gardner & Agnieszka Latawiec

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Botanical Garden Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Laboratório de Biogeografia da Conservação, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil

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Contributions

B.B.N.S. conceived the study, coordinated the development of the multicriteria approach and wrote the first version of the paper. H.L.B., B.B.N.S., R.C. and A.I. led the optimization modelling, while M.F.S., F.B. and A.S.-T. developed the environmental niche modelling. B.B.N.S., H.L.B., R.C., A.I., M.M., H.P.P., F.B., M.F.S., A.B., J.B.B.S., P.H.S.B., R.L.C., A.G., A.L., J.P.M., R.R.R., C.A.M.S., F.R.S., L.T., T.A.G. and M.U. developed the multicriteria prioritization approach. R.L., J.P.M. and A.O.F. contributed biodiversity data, and R.L.C. and E.N.B. developed the climate mitigation surface. C.A.M.S. coordinated the interface with policy applications. All authors analysed the results and provided input into subsequent versions of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Bernardo B. N. Strassburg .

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Strassburg, B.B.N., Beyer, H.L., Crouzeilles, R. et al. Strategic approaches to restoring ecosystems can triple conservation gains and halve costs. Nat Ecol Evol 3 , 62–70 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0743-8

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Received : 03 February 2018

Accepted : 28 October 2018

Published : 17 December 2018

Issue Date : January 2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0743-8

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Cities & UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Urban areas occupy just three per cent of the Earth’s land surface but house more than half of its people. Despite their steel and concrete, crowds and traffic, cities and towns are still ecosystems whose condition profoundly marks the quality of our lives.

Functioning urban ecosystems help clean our air and water, cool urban heat islands, and support our well-being by shielding us from hazards and providing opportunities for rest and play.

However, through a process of rapid and unplanned urbanization, humans keep on transforming the natural world and create new realities.  Left unchecked, urbanization has devastating impacts on natural ecosystems, which in turn negatively affect the well-being of urban populations.

As cities grow, they take space from agricultural and industrial lands that then need to expand into other ecosystems. Adopting  nature-based solutions  at the urban level to protect, conserve and restore these degraded ecosystems, and mainstreaming the landscape scale in urban planning are key to reconnect cities with nature and mitigate the impact of climate change on urban communities.

UNEP, through its Generation Restoration project (2023-25), aims to implement a package of measures to address selected political, technical, financial challenges to promote restoration at scale, particularly in urban areas, as a contribution to the  UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration  and the  Global Biodiversity Framework.

The project is supporting 14 cities around the world to implement pilot projects to catalyse ecosystem restoration in urban areas:

• Douala in Cameroun is restoring mangroves and setting up of governance structures with the community to ensure their participation in the restoration and preservation of ecosystems.
• In Senegal, Dakar-Plateau & Thies are creating a greenbelt and blue-green wedges around the metropolitan region, to allow for species movement between protected lands on the city's outskirts.
• Quezon City in Metro Manila, Philippines, is working with local communities and students to identify urban spaces to transform into restoration areas, and designing of ecological corridors, green spaces and pollinator gardens in the city.
• In India, the city of Kochi is undertaking a canal restoration to improve the water quality of the Vembanad Lake ecosystem, for the benefit of people and the entire basin.
• Sirajganj in Bangladesh is renaturing the city’s river coasts through the creation of a green corridor, which will rehabilitate, restore, and enhance biodiversity around the river.
• The Ecuadorian canton of Samborondon is restoring mangroves along the Daule and Babahoyo rivers. This activity will re-introduce local mangrove species, remove invasives, and restore natural habitats.
• The capital Mexico City is strengthening citizen participation in promoting ecological restoration, to help the Government bring nature back into the urban environment.
• The Amazonian city of Manaus in Brazil is promoting agroecology in urban and peri-urban agriculture as a nature-based solution to increase food security and reduce pressure on precious nearby forests.
• Mendoza in Argentina is leading environmental stewardship by restoring native arid ecosystems and empowering local communities by creating dynamic ecological corridors to combat climate change and promote biodiversity.
• Curitiba in Brazil is integrating biodiversity preservation with climate action by protecting natural habitats, enhancing urban green spaces, and implementing sustainable infrastructure solutions to create a resilient and sustainable urban environment.
• In Colombia, Barranquilla's Leon Creek Restoration project aims to improve water quality, promote biodiversity, protect natural resources, and foster community well-being through the preservation and recovery of the once-neglected Leon Creek.
• In Kenya, Kisumu County's project to restore the Auji River aims to improve livelihoods, prevent ecosystem degradation, and promote sustainable farming practices by restoring biodiversity hotspots and collaborating with local communities.
• In South Africa, the city of Overstrand's holistic watershed management approach aims to rehabilitate the Onrus River catchment corridor to safeguard water resources, prevent land degradation, and ensure long-term resilience against climate change.
• Istanbul in Türkiye is strengthening ecological corridors, engaging communities through public participation and volunteer programs, and raising awareness to support pollinators and foster sustainable urban development and ecosystem restoration.

The project is also relying on a growing number of Role Model cities to Strengthen Advocacy and Share Knowledge as Champions of restoration. 

Learn more about our Generation Restoration cities. 

Related Sustainable Development Goals

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Community engagement for the restoration of local ecosystems

Grassroots action for the restoration of your local ecosystem is a means to engage yourself and the community around you to become part of the change that you are trying to achieve, according to the IUCN Community-Organizing Toolkit on Ecosystem Restoration .  

The urgency around restoration

There has never been a more pressing time to restore our ecosystems. The effects of climate change and degradation that have been witnessed around the world have indicated the dire state of our planet. We’ve seen these impacts in our wetlands, tundras, deserts, oceans and beyond in both uninhabited and densely populated areas with predictions looking dire for the most delicate ecosystems. Marine ecosystem powerhouses, like coral reefs, are expected to be under critical threat by 2050 with potentially 90% threatened and 60% facing high, very high, or critical threat levels. Without taking concrete steps to stabilize, reverse and mitigate degradation, the damage that has and will continue to be done will become more difficult to reverse. 

Thriving ecosystems have the power to unlock nature-based solutions to solve earth’s biggest challenges like climate change and also smaller, but just as impactful environmental, economic and societal challenges in local communities. Not only do healthy ecosystems contribute to successfully mitigating and adapting to risks posed by climate change, but prosperous ecosystems also provide food sources, green spaces, habitats, livelihoods, shelter, and enhanced access to water. The continued degradation of ecosystems is a missed opportunity for finding sustainable solutions that benefit people and the planet. Fortunately, where degradation is the problem, restoration is the answer. 

What does restoration look like?

Ecosystem restoration is defined by the UN as “the process of halting and reversing degradation, resulting in improved ecosystem services and recovered biodiversity. Ecosystem restoration encompasses a wide continuum of practices, depending on local conditions and societal choice”. Many of the most common restoration activities include tree planting, coral rehabilitation, forest rewilding, invasive species eradication, natural ground-water filtration introduction, or green space creation. Restoration activities can be used to achieve long-term goals that increase the amount and quality of biodiversity, improve air and water quality as well as community stewardship, economic autonomy, and overall harmony. Restoration is a powerful tool that can be used to empower local voices, indigenous communities, and cultivate individual and collective responsibility. 

How can communities get involved?

Although we do need governments, large corporations, and other powerful organizations to act to prevent further large-scale degradation, we should not overlook the potential of individuals and communities to solve local and region-specific problems. With the right capacity and knowledge, every individual and community has the power to become changemakers in their own area. Let’s take a look at some of the key considerations when taking action to restore our ecosystems.

5 Most common barriers and tools for overcoming challenges

Lack of Scientific Knowledge

It can be quite difficult to know where to start ecosystem restoration efforts. Not knowing where to begin coupled with not having a clear picture of what could be accomplished are the biggest and earliest hurdles that must be overcome before grabbing a bucket or shovel. Without solidifying an action plan and having adequate research on the problem you are trying to solve can upend your restoration success before it begins. 

To build a solid foundation to tackle the issue that your ecosystem is facing, acquiring research from academic or international institutions can be a good first step. Remember that your own community can also be a wealth of knowledge. Seeking indigenous or traditional knowledge on tried and tested practices can also be a fundamental way to tap into generations of wisdom and holistic visions. Use the plethora of resources available to you to better understand your community’s needs while ensuring that you do not alter the ecosystem integrity of that space. This toolkit draws on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Principles to aid readers in their research. The document also provides research assistance and resources on a number of ecosystems and restoration approaches. The bottom line is to take time to understand the ecosystem and the deeper dynamics surrounding the health of the ecosystem before deciding on a restoration method. 

Lack of Government Support

The support of the local government can help your restoration actions gain more attention, and can aid in cementing your movement for future generations. Unfortunately, many individuals don’t receive support from the local authorities, for reasons including the scale of their actions, lack of funds,  political instability, or perhaps that the political agenda does not prioritize these types of actions. Luckily, this does not have to be a determining factor of your restoration action, as there are ways to start community organizing for ecosystem restoration which do not require specific governmental support. Think of changing your behavior as an individual, holding educational meetings, or trying to overcome this challenge by actively engaging with government representatives or starting petitions in order to increase government support. The toolkit is catered to any size of movement and offers many paths to success, with or without government assistance. 

Lack of Knowledgeable Community

If you feel there is a lack of a “knowledgeable” community, find ways to facilitate knowledge-sharing based on what is available to the aspiring restorer, different ways to start conversations amongst community members include: holding meetings, making fliers and other educational materials, and starting a group of like-minded people. Through knowledge-sharing, the connections between community members often improve and the community grows stronger to tackle the community’s biggest restoration challenges.

Lack of Financing 

Having financial support available to you can help you come a long way with your ecosystem restoration efforts, but there are other ways to achieve your goals that don’t require money. The IUCN Community-Organizing Toolkit on Ecosystem Restoration shows that ecosystem restoration can be accessible to everyone. The resource outlines several options that do not require any money, yet have the potential to make a difference: think of picking up trash, avoiding pesticide use, calling your representatives, etc.  While money can be helpful, the toolkit aims to help organizers tap into every resource at their disposal such as time, expertise, and community. 

For those aiming to take their restoration efforts to the next level and aim to achieve wider goals, some financial tools have been compiled in the toolkit as well.

Lack of Inspiration

There is no need to reinvent the wheel concerning ecosystem restoration when time is of the essence. The best way to learn about the potential of community organizing for ecosystem restoration is through others. This is why IUCN compiled several case studies from all over the world, to highlight some best practices in ecosystem restoration and to inspire ecosystem restorers to be. 

From Honduras to Spain to Kenya, grassroots, or “bottom-up” restoration activities have distributed countless benefits that communities have continued to reap. The following four scenarios of successful ecosystem restoration share examples of how individuals, small collectives, and partnerships contributed to the regeneration and restoration of ecosystems, attributing secondary rewards to each community. We’ll explore the following case studies: Female-led mangrove restoration in Honduras (page 30) , Restoration through young engagement in Spain (page 31) , An urban transformation project in Kenya (page 28) and more in our toolkit. 

Source: IUCN / UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

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Essay on Ecosystem Restoration

Ecosystem restoration, or ecological restoration, is restoring an ecosystem to its natural state cost-effectively and sustainably. In other words, ecosystem restoration refers to restoring ecosystems that have been damaged or disrupted by human activity or natural causes. Ecological restoration aims to create a healthy environment for humans and other organisms. Environmental restoration may involve removing invasive species, reintroducing native species, restoring hydrological balance, or any number of different activities intended to improve an area’s biodiversity and health. There is a lot of pressure on open spaces and natural resources. These projects can range from efforts that simply involve removing invasive species to more complicated ones like bringing back extinct animals . BYJU’S essay on ecosystem restoration explains the significance of the restoration of the environment .

The process of ecosystem restoration is the deliberate and systematic efforts to recreate or replace an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. The process is cyclical, where new plants and animals are reintroduced into the area, followed by predators to keep populations in check. The result should be a fully functioning, sustainable ecosystem, much like before it was disrupted. To learn more about the importance of ecosystem restoration, read a short essay on ecosystem restoration.

Importance of Ecosystem Restoration

Ecosystem restoration is essential for many reasons. It helps replenish the number of species in an ecosystem. When an ecosystem declines, there are more disease outbreaks and changes in food webs. Wild animals also struggle to find enough resources. Ecosystems also need restoration because they often fail to recover after catastrophic events. BYJU’S essay writing on ecosystem keeps us informed about the need to restore the environment.

The goal of ecosystem restoration is to improve biodiversity and its health. Efforts are made to repair damages caused by humans and natural disasters. To do this, we need many volunteers willing to dedicate their time to the task. The first thing that an ecosystem restoration team will do is assess the damage and then develop a restoration plan. They would also map out all of the human-made structures in the area and then survey them for any hazardous materials. They would try to keep these structures intact as much as possible because they can often be used in the future for things such as trails or wildlife corridors.

The ecosystems humans have impacted are not as resilient as they once were. Many of the natural habitats that animals live in today have been converted for other land uses or damaged by human activities. The need for these animals is more significant than ever, but restoration of their habitats and the species they rely on can be complex. There are many things that humans can do to make it easier on these animals, such as protecting and restoring critical habitat patches, improving outdoor areas for wildlife, and knowledgeable removal of invasive species.

To conclude, restoring the ecosystem plays a vital role in protecting our mother Earth . By restoring the balance of natural habitats and ecosystems, animals can live in areas that best suit their needs. It is our responsibility as humans to save our nature . For more essays, poems and stories , visit BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it essential to restore the ecosystem.

Ecosystem restoration is significant because it preserves biodiversity and improves the environment. When an ecosystem is restored, it increases the survival rate of endangered animals. It also promotes a healthy environment by reducing environmental stressors like pollution, making room for new species to thrive, and creating more biodiverse habitats.

Why should we restore the ecosystem?

We should restore the ecosystem because it provides many benefits, such as food and water, that make life possible for living beings on the Earth. It also helps make Earth more resilient to extreme weather events like hurricanes, landslides, and forest fires.

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Over $7M raised for Jordan River restoration projects. Here's how it's being used

By carter williams, ksl.com | posted - sept. 3, 2024 at 8:10 a.m., paul jerome, west jordan city assistant chief administrative officer, and west jordan city councilman kent shelton explore big bend nature park and preserve during a media event in west jordan on friday. (kristin murphy, deseret news).

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

WEST JORDAN — Work is getting underway again to give the Jordan River ecosystem a boost.

Various entities gathered at the Big Bend Restoration Area on Friday to celebrate the beginning of a new large-scale riparian and watershed restoration initiative. It seeks to build on work to improve the 51-mile waterway after it received over $7 million from federal, state and local government, and nongovernment sources.

"This is a significant step toward a revitalized future for the Jordan River," said Kim Shelley, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, before the event.

The initiative features four key projects scattered across the river's path.

West Jordan will lead the project to restore Big Bend's native floodplain and riparian forest while adding trails, river access and open space to the area. About a half-mile section of the river will be constructed as part of the plan. It builds on work that began in 1998 after damages caused by the nearby Sharon Steel Corporation mill just north of the site.

The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and the Jordan River Commission are co-leading another project that seeks to remove phragmites, tamarisk and other invasive species within over a dozen spots across Salt Lake and Utah counties. The invasive species would be replaced with about 20,000 native trees and shrubs over the next two years.

Another project — led by the Rockies chapter of the National Audubon Society — centers around invasive species management and shorebird habitat restoration near the Jordan River delta, a key area for shorebirds by the southeast end of the Great Salt Lake.

The Jordan River Commission will also oversee a new outreach campaign to improve Jordan River watershed health, including an effort to monitor aquatic, riparian and upland habitat within the river's ecosystem.

Combined, the involved entities believe the four projects will play a "vital" role in creating healthier river riparian areas and restoring the river's watershed, among other things.

Most of the funding comes from a $4.99 million federal grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which was endorsed by Utah's congressional delegation. It was the lone Utah plan among the 74 conservation projects that received more than $141 million nationwide from the foundation.

The rest comes from state and local government contributions, private donations and "in-kind support" from various groups that totaled over $7 million to match what was required to receive the grant, project officials said.

"Together, we're embarking on a journey to restore and rejuvenate this habitat, while fostering sustainable ecosystems for generations to come," Shelley said.

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