June 2017: In its ‘Forest Brief no 18,’ the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) discusses how forest landscape restoration can support achievement of national and international biodiversity-related commitments, including the Aichi biodiversity targets, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) inclusive of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target, and commitments under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. The World Bank and Bioversity International have also highlighted projects on landscape restoration.

While the Forest Brief draws attention to case studies from Colombia, Peru and Malawi, the IUCN has also highlighted efforts in El Salvador to use forest restoration to meet goals set under the Bonn Challenge. The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. The country shared its progress at a Bonn Challenge Latin America meeting held 12-13 June, in Roatán, Honduras.

In another landscape-focused project, the World Bank discusses its work in Ethiopia, where it supports the Oromia Forested Landscape Program. The program is financed through a US$18 million grant by the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes. It aims to provide results-based payments for emission reductions achieved across Oromia regional state. At the local level, the project will invest grant funds in participatory forest management and reforestation in targeted sites in 49 districts that are deforestation hotspots. At the state level, the project will help advance institutional development, forest-smart policies, incentives and forest monitoring to create an enabling environment for local initiatives to scale up. Overall, the project will provide payments for 10 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emission reductions and help communities meet energy, water and food security needs.

Finally, Bioversity International scientists and partners released research discussing obstacles to landscape restoration initiatives in Asia. The report published in the Landscape and Urban Planning journal, analyzes 166 integrated landscape initiatives in the region of South and Southeast Asia. Obstacles to successful project implementation include a lack of involvement of the private sector, uneven participation of stakeholders in design and implementation, and damaging power dynamics. The survey showed that integrated landscape initiatives in South and Southeast Asia, just like those in Latin America and Africa, tend to be most commonly motivated by a need for conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources, followed by agricultural development. The survey also revealed that a majority of such initiatives struggle to continue beyond their initial funding cycles.

As a next step, researchers that form part of the ‘Landscapes for People, Food and Nature’ initiative plan to conduct a cross-continental analysis using data from four continents. Bioversity International is a member of the CGIAR System Organization. [Bioversity International Press Release] [World Bank Press Release] [IUCN Press Release] [Forest Brief no. 18, June 2017] [The Bonn Challenge]