UN warns world falling behind target to restore one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030

UN warns world falling behind target to restore one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030

A UN report says restoration efforts have reached 252 million hectares in 149 countries but warns that funding gaps and slow progress threaten global recovery targets.

A global campaign to restore degraded land and ecosystems has covered 252 million hectares across 149 countries, but the world is still falling behind its 2030 nature recovery targets, a new United Nations report has warned.

The report, which tracks the largest global restoration effort to date, highlights progress in creating more than one million green jobs but warns that significantly greater investment and faster action are needed to reverse environmental destruction and protect biodiversity.

It says countries must urgently scale up their efforts to meet a global commitment to restore one billion hectares of degraded ecosystems by 2030.

“Today, we are witnessing the emergence of one of the largest movements for nature in recorded history,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

“Yet, 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.”

The assessment, jointly published by UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, identifies inadequate funding and uneven progress across ecosystems as major obstacles to meeting global restoration targets.

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It estimates that annual financing for ecosystem restoration must increase more than fourfold, from $64 billion (Sh8.3 trillion) to $296 billion (Sh38.5 trillion) by 2030, to sustain the recovery efforts.

The additional investment could create an estimated 32 million jobs worldwide by the end of the decade, highlighting the economic opportunities associated with environmental restoration.

However, progress remains uneven across different ecosystems. Terrestrial restoration accounts for nearly half of the global target, while freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems continue to lag.

According to the report, only 11 million hectares of freshwater ecosystems and 5.7 million hectares of marine and coastal ecosystems are currently under restoration, underscoring the need for targeted interventions and stronger monitoring.

Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, said restoration efforts would only succeed if countries also tackled the activities driving environmental destruction.

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

The report calls on governments to strengthen political commitment, improve monitoring systems, mobilise public and private investment and ensure the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

It also urges countries to move beyond isolated restoration projects and build long-term restoration economies that protect biodiversity, support livelihoods and sustain environmental recovery beyond 2030.