How feasible are global forest restoration commitments?

Numerous countries have made voluntary commitments to conduct forest landscape restoration over millions of hectares of degraded land in the coming decade. We consider the relative likelihood these countries will achieve their restoration commitments. Across countries, the area committed to restorat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation letters 2020-05, Vol.13 (3), p.n/a
Main Authors: Fagan, Matthew E., Reid, J. Leighton, Holland, Margaret B., Drew, Justin G., Zahawi, Rakan A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural management
Agricultural production
Agriculture
biodiversity conservation
Bonn Challenge
carbon storage
Climate change
Deforestation
Developed countries
Environmental restoration
Food production
forest landscape restoration
Forests
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Land cover
Land use
longevity
persistence
Plantations
REDD
reforestation
Regression analysis
Restoration
Sustainable development
Trees
Variables
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Summary:Numerous countries have made voluntary commitments to conduct forest landscape restoration over millions of hectares of degraded land in the coming decade. We consider the relative likelihood these countries will achieve their restoration commitments. Across countries, the area committed to restoration increased with existing forest and plantation area, but was inversely related to development status, with less developed countries pledging more area. Restoration commitments are generally large (median: 2 million hectares) and will be challenging to meet without the wholesale transformation of food production systems. Indeed, one third of countries committed >10% of their land area to restoration (maximum: 81%). Furthermore, high rates of land cover change may reverse gains: a quarter of countries experienced recent deforestation and agricultural expansion that exceeded their restoration commitment area. The limited progress reported by countries, and the sheer scale of commitments, raises serious questions about long‐term success, especially absent necessary monitoring and management plans.
ISSN:1755-263X
1755-263X
DOI:10.1111/conl.12700