Report on diversity and impact of the Bonn Challenge released as  ‘Restore Our Future’ Global campaign launches

Countries commit to restore over 210 million hectares of forest landscapes under the Bonn Challenge, creating an opportunity to boost climate ambition

 Since its launch in 2011, 61 nations, 8 states and 5 associations have taken up the Bonn Challenge – committing more than 210 million hectares to the world’s largest forest landscape restoration (FLR) initiative and forging ahead with restoration planning and implementation.

 A new analysis shows unrealised potential for forest landscape restoration (FLR) as a critical lever for meeting climate targets, protecting biodiversity, reversing land degradation and rebuilding economies.

 If Bonn Challenge countries were to fully incorporate their already committed quantitative Bonn Challenge targets into their NDCs, this would account for 205.78 million hectares of increased climate ambition and action in the forest and land use sector – removing up to 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide.

The Bonn Challenge, launched in 2011 by IUCN and the Federal German Ministry for the Environment, aims at 150 million hectares under restoration by 2020, and at 350 million hectares by 2030.

 Launching today, ‘Restore Our Future’ is an ongoing global campaign celebrating the Bonn Challenge in its first milestone year and accelerating action over the coming decade.

Over a 24-hour period, 24+ nations will showcase how, by committing to the Bonn Challenge, they have used FLR to boost ecological and human health and wellbeing.

Restore Our Future brings to life stories of forest landscape restoration by individuals, communities, organisations and governments.

To mark the 2020 milestone, the Bonn Challenge Secretariat, managed by IUCN, today released a report – entitled Bonn Challenge: Impact and Potential of Forest Landscape Restoration.

The report highlights the diversity and impact of the Bonn Challenge with six case studies – from Rwanda to Guatemala – showing what is happening on the ground in preparation for the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

It also reveals the unrealised potential for participating countries to use forest landscape restoration efforts to raise their climate ambition before the upcoming UNFCCC COP26 and stimulate economic recovery through the creation of jobs and other benefits after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report found that:

• 117 of 166 countries (70%) have not yet set quantitative targets from the forests and land use sector related to forest landscape restoration to absorb CO2 within their climate change Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• Of 166 NDCs analysed,128 countries included targets aligned with FLR, reflecting recognition of the role of restoration in combating climate change in the forest and land use sector, but only 30% of NDCs expressed quantitative targets.
• Of 166 NDCs analysed, 61 have made Bonn Challenge commitment but only 53 of these included targets aligned with FLR in their NDCs, and only 27 were quantitative targets.
• If all Bonn Challenge countries were to fully incorporate their already committed quantitative Bonn Challenge targets into their 2020 NDCs, this would account for 205.78 million hectares of increased climate ambition and action – removing up to 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide.

Dr Bruno Oberle, IUCN Director General, said: “To restore our future, we require durable, effective nature-based solutions that can tackle challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss or food and water security, but also stimulate economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The achievements made under Bonn Challenge to date clearly illustrate that such solutions exist, and that they work at a global scale. We call on the global community to build on the momentum created and increase ambition even further at this crucial moment in time.”

Stewart Maginnis , IUCN Global Director for the Nature-based Solutions Group, said: “Countries that have joined the Bonn Challenge have realised a vast array of socioeconomic benefits, from boosting crop yields in poverty-stricken areas – to enhancing flood resilience. Crucially, through adopting forest landscape restoration through the Bonn Challenge, countries can activate a vital lever to unlock collective ambition in the run-up to COP26.”

 Mr Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Government of Germany said, “The Bonn Challenge has triggered regional initiatives promoting collaboration between countries on the restoration of forests at the landscape level. It unlocked new funding and led to the development of new policies and tools to advance implementation. This is an important collective commitment to restore our future. To keep this ball rolling, it comes at the right time that the community of states proclaimed the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration for the Years 2021 to 2030.We expect the Bonn Challenge as well as other initiatives to play a major role in making this UN Decade a success.”

Christiana Figueres, co-founder of Global Optimism and the former UN climate chief who oversaw the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change commented: “The Bonn Challenge provides the evidence we need to further invest in forest landscape restoration. We know that the climate change, biodiversity, health and economic crises have all converged. Forest restoration is not only a powerful and effective nature-based solution to address these challenges, it is also 30% of the solution to carbon removals. The human, environmental and economic case for increasing global restoration action is key to restoring our future.”