Global ecosystem restoration reaches 252 million hectares, creating over one million jobs

A global effort to restore degraded ecosystems has reached 252 million hectares across 149 countries, generating more than one million green jobs, according to a new United Nations report.

The findings represent the largest documented global restoration effort to date, but the UN says progress remains insufficient to meet international commitments to reverse nature loss by 2030.

The report, Nature’s Comeback – Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet, warns that governments must significantly increase restoration efforts, particularly in freshwater, marine, and coastal ecosystems, and more than quadruple annual investment.

It estimates that scaling up restoration financing could create as many as 32 million additional jobs worldwide by 2030.

Published midway through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), the report provides the first comprehensive global assessment of progress towards commitments to restore approximately one billion hectares of degraded land and ecosystems.

It also examines progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework target of placing at least 30% of degraded terrestrial, freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems under effective restoration by 2030.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) jointly produced the report.

It was launched at a high-level event during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), where the UN recognised five restoration initiatives in China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Italy and the United States as UN World Restoration Flagships.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the growing restoration movement demonstrated that countries and communities were beginning to make significant progress in reversing environmental degradation.

"Today, we are witnessing the making of one of the largest movements for nature in recorded history," she said.

However, she warned that current interventions still fell short in scale and pace.

"At the halfway point of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, we are still not restoring nature at the scale or speed required. By 2030, we must turn inspiring initiatives into systemwide action – shifting to restoration economies that protect what remains and restore what has been degraded," she said.

Asia accounts for largest restoration area

The report shows significant differences in the geographical distribution of restoration activities.

Asia accounts for 192.2 million hectares of the total documented area, making it the largest contributor, followed by Africa with 36.3 million hectares.

Europe has 9.1 million hectares under restoration, while North and Central America account for 5.8 million hectares. South America has 5.4 million hectares, with Oceania recording 3.2 million hectares.

The UN cautions that these figures should not be interpreted as a ranking of regional performance, as they reflect differences in land area, the scale of restoration activities and countries' capacities to monitor and report progress.

China has reported the largest terrestrial restoration area, 127.4 million hectares, while Mongolia and Kazakhstan have also documented substantial areas.

Overall, restoration of terrestrial ecosystems has reached nearly half of the global target of restoring 30% of degraded terrestrial ecosystems by 2030.

The report, however, identifies freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems as major areas of concern.

Despite some of the fastest rates of degradation, restoration efforts in these environments still lag far behind those on land.

Only 11 million hectares of freshwater ecosystems across 62 countries and 5.7 million hectares of marine and coastal ecosystems across 46 countries are currently documented as being under restoration.

Progress is evident, particularly in wetland protection. The share of countries reporting implemented wetland restoration or rehabilitation programmes rose from 8% in 2022 to 54%.

Nevertheless, the report warns that limited reporting on aquatic restoration could underestimate the actual scale of ongoing interventions.

Restoration could create 32 million jobs

Beyond environmental protection, the UN says ecosystem restoration presents significant opportunities for employment, food security and economic development.

Healthy ecosystems are essential for maintaining water supplies, supporting agricultural production, strengthening climate resilience and improving livelihoods.

Research cited in the report indicates that restoring just 15% of global priority areas could capture and store carbon dioxide equivalent to 30% of emissions released since the Industrial Revolution.

Such interventions could also help prevent 60% of projected species extinctions.

Evidence of the benefits is emerging from restoration programmes worldwide. Reported successes include the recovery of mountain gorillas in East Africa, jaguars in Brazil, snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan and Ganges River dolphins in India.

But sustaining these gains will require substantially greater financial commitments. The report estimates that annual investment in ecosystem restoration must rise from US$64 billion to US$296 billion by 2030. This represents more than a fourfold increase in financing over the next four years.

The largest estimated annual investment requirement is for agroforestry, at US$87 billion, followed by restorative reforestation at US$52 billion. Peatland restoration will require an estimated US$44 billion annually, while seagrass restoration needs US$28 billion.

The report argues that such investment could help unlock millions of jobs while strengthening the economic and social benefits of healthy ecosystems.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said the first five years of the UN Decade showed that restoration interventions could deliver results.

"Five years into the UN Decade, the message is clear: restoration works," he said.

He said the challenge now was to make restoration an integral part of sustainable land, water and natural resource management, alongside a broader transformation of agrifood systems.

"Healthy ecosystems are vital for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind," he said.

Governments urged to address causes of degradation

The report warns that restoration programmes will struggle to deliver lasting results if governments continue to permit activities that destroy ecosystems.

CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker said governments must confront the underlying causes of environmental degradation while ensuring that restoration investments deliver sustainable outcomes.

"We cannot expect to fix nature with one hand while we destroy it with the other one," she said.

"Governments must address the drivers of ecosystem degradation and invest in monitoring mechanisms to ensure the durability of the restoration movement to date," he added.

Declared by the UN General Assembly, the 2021–2030 Decade is a global initiative led by UNEP and FAO, with support from international partners, to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation worldwide.

It aims to restore billions of hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems through coordinated political action, scientific research, and increased financing.

With four years remaining until 2030, the new assessment presents a mixed

The challenge now is to turn this growing momentum into sustained action that delivers measurable benefits for nature and the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on it.