Land degradation creates serious challenges for over 3 billion people around the world, especially small farmers and herders. It reduces crop yields and food production, threatens water supply, erodes land, and makes communities more vulnerable to floods, landslides and other natural disasters that climate change is intensifying.

That damage can be reversed by restoring forests, farmland, pasture and other landscapes. Restoration is a process. People restore land for different reasons, from helping communities adapt to the changing climate or improving agricultural yields, to preserving traditional livelihoods and improving women’s access to land.

With those goals in mind, countries have committed to restoring over 170 million hectares through the Bonn Challenge and regional alliances like AFR100, Initiative 20x20, and ECCA30. And as the United Nations has declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, countries, communities, and companies are stepping up their ambition.

Restoring landscapes can be challenging, but resources are available to help practitioners prepare, implement, and monitor their work. Read further following the link above