Restoration efforts are working, but we need to move faster to meet targets, says U.N. report

Across 149 countries, people are working to restore 252 million hectares of damaged land and water—an area larger than Mexico—and the effort has already created more than 1 million green jobs. A new United Nations report calls it the largest documented global restoration effort to date, while warning that progress needs to speed up if countries are to meet their 2030 goals.

The report, “Nature’s Comeback—Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet,” takes stock midway through the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs from 2021 to 2030. Countries have committed to restoring about 1 billion hectares worldwide. A separate global biodiversity goal calls for at least 30% of degraded land, freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems to be under effective restoration by 2030.

The assessment was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the U.N. Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It was launched at a high-level event during the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, COP17, where five initiatives in China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Italy and the United States were recognized as U.N. World Restoration Flagships.

The scale of reported work varies widely by region. Asia accounts for 192.2 million hectares under restoration, followed by Africa with 36.3 million, Europe with 9.1 million, North and Central America with 5.8 million, South America with 5.4 million and Oceania with 3.2 million. These totals do not measure which regions are doing best: they also reflect land area and countries’ ability to track and report restoration. China has the largest reported area of terrestrial restoration, at 127.4 million hectares.

Land restoration is advancing more quickly than work in rivers, wetlands, oceans and coasts. The report records 11 million hectares of freshwater ecosystems being restored in 62 countries, and 5.7 million hectares of marine and coastal ecosystems in 46 countries. Those habitats are degrading rapidly, but reporting on restoration may be incomplete. There are signs of growing attention: since 2022, the share of countries reporting wetland restoration or rehabilitation programs has risen from 8% to 54%.

The stakes reach beyond wildlife. Research cited in the report suggests that restoring 15% of priority areas worldwide could capture and store carbon equal to 30% of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions since the Industrial Revolution, while helping avoid 60% of species extinctions. Flagship efforts have helped species including mountain gorillas in East Africa, jaguars in Brazil, snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan and Ganges River dolphins in India.

To meet the 2030 commitments, the report says annual restoration funding must rise from $64 billion to $296 billion—more than four times its current level. That investment could support an estimated 32 million new jobs worldwide by 2030. Restoration is also spreading through cities, schools, businesses and community groups; the U.N. decade’s partner network now includes more than 300 organizations across all regions.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the world must turn promising projects into “systemwide action.” The report’s message is both encouraging and urgent: restoration is already happening at huge scale, but keeping ecosystems—and the jobs and security they support—on track will require faster work and lasting funding.