With a series of events dubbed the “Bonn Challenge Journey” participants to the 2016 International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) have marked a milestone in commitments for restoring degraded and deforested land under the Bonn Challenge.
Including announcements made at WCC, the Bonn Challenge has now received commitments to restore 113 million hectares putting the initiative on track to meeting its objective to restore 150 million hectares by 2020.
4 September 2016: With a series of events dubbed the ‘Bonn Challenge Journey,’ participants at the 2016 International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) have marked a milestone in commitments for restoring degraded and deforested land under the Bonn Challenge. Including announcements made at WCC, the Bonn Challenge has now received commitments to restore 113 million hectares, putting the initiative on track to meeting its objective to restore 150 million hectares by 2020.
The Bonn Challenge Journey included five events held over the first three days of WCC addressing in-country experiences, success stories and commitments to forest restoration. The Programme included sessions on: implementing the Bonn Challenge in the US; restoration and leadership in action; fostering innovation and integration in support of the Bonn Challenge; celebrating the 100 hectares milestone; and restoration action for the future.
On Saturday, 3 September 2016, during a high-level dialogue session, additional pledges were made by the Malawian Government and a private reserves group of Guatemala, bringing the total area of pledges to date to 113 million hectares pledged by 36 countries.
The Bonn Challenge aims to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. The initiative aims to support: implementation of the Aichi Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity; efforts to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and the target to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which is also reflected by target 15.3 of sustainable development goal (SDG) 15 to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
The Bonn Challenge was endorsed by the New York Declaration on Forests, which calls for expanded restoration targets to restore a total of 350 million hectares by 2030. It is overseen by the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, with the IUCN as its Secretariat. [IUCN Press Release] [Bonn Challenge Journey Programme] [Bonn Challenge Website] [IISD-RS Reporting Services Coverage of WCC, 3 September 2016]