We are running out of time to restore forests: UN
What's the story
The United Nations has issued a stark warning about the urgent need to restore global forests. The "State of the World's Forests" report by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights that over 489 million hectares of forests have been lost since 1990, with an even larger area degraded. It calls for governments worldwide to prioritize forest restoration as a national agenda.
Restoration gap
Billion-hectare restoration pledge
The report acknowledges global progress in protection and tree planting but emphasizes that these actions are not keeping up with commitments.
Over the last 20 years, various initiatives have pledged to restore over one billion hectares of land. However, only about one-fifth of this target has been achieved.
The FAO report notes, "Progress is uneven, and it is insufficient to meet growing global needs."
Ecological importance
Forests are under threat
Covering 4.14 billion hectares (a third of Earth's land surface), forests are carbon sinks storing 714 gigatonnes of carbon and home to nearly 80% of the world's terrestrial biodiversity.
They also regulate rainfall and reduce hunger, with nearly a third of the global population relying on them for their livelihoods.
However, these vital resources are under increasing threat from fires, pests, diseases, extreme weather events, farming expansion, climate change impacts, pollution and resource extraction.
Imbalance warning
Economic benefits of restoration
The UN report warns of a widening gap between demand and sustainable supply, highlighting a structural imbalance that threatens both ecological integrity and the long-term viability of forest-based economies.
It emphasizes that remedial action on forests and other degraded ecosystems shall benefit people, food security, and the economy.
Restoring one billion hectares could yield an estimated $1.8 trillion in annual benefits.
Restoration urgency
Strategic investment in agrifood systems
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu stressed the report's findings, saying, "Forest and landscape restoration is more than an environmental priority - it is a strategic investment in resilient agrifood systems and rural development."
He added that "the window for action is narrowing, and delayed or poorly designed restoration will increase long-term costs, exacerbate inequalities and risk locking landscapes into unsustainable trajectories."