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Large-scale forest landscape restoration (FLR) in Africa project: tree-rich landscapes to foster biodiversity, climate change resilience and better livelihoods










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    Book (stand-alone)
    The key role of forest and landscape restoration in climate action 2022
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    Forest and land degradation affects almost 2 billion hectares (ha) of land and threatens the livelihoods, well-being, food, water and energy security of nearly 3.2 billion people. Forest and landscape restoration (FLR) is a relatively recent response to address these impacts and aims to recover the ecological functionality and enhance human well-being in deforested and degraded landscapes. Forest and landscape restoration practices have also proven to have significant benefits for addressing the impacts of climate change. These include carbon sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improving the resilience of landscapes and reducing disaster risks. Forest and landscape restoration is therefore one of the key solutions of the agriculture, forestry and other land-use (AFOLU) sector considered in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), confirmed in the Glasgow’s Declaration on Forest and Land during the twenty-sixth UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP26). This publication highlights the links between FLR and climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, and considers further opportunities to enable greater integration between the two agendas. Many large restoration initiatives have been launched in the last decade. More projects are under preparation through the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, including many projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These projects, often funded under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other climate funds are emphasized in the report to illustrate the numerous climate benefits of FLR. As a relatively cost-effective approach to supporting carbon sequestration, conservation and sustainable forest use, FLR is playing an active role in enabling climate mitigation. Should the Bonn Challenge reach its goal to restore 350 million ha, it could sequester up to 1.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (Gt CO2) per year. Reduction of GHG emissions is also crucial, and the FLR approach provides a strong basis to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, especially through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) activities. It can also support sustainable bioenergy, in particular the wood energy sector, a large contributor of GHGs. Forest and landscape restoration is also key for supporting the conservation of existing forests and landscapes to protect and enhance carbon already stored in ecosystems, such as those in peatlands. This publication describes the different tools that have been developed by FAO to better measure the quantities of carbon stored and other climate benefits achieved through FLR projects.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Advancing the role of natural regeneration in large-scale forest and landscape restoration in the Asia-Pacific region
    19-21 June 2017, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China
    2018
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    There are numerous global, regional, national and even subnational targets for increasing forest area and forest restoration. In light of these global targets and emerging ambitious national commitments, it is imperative to develop low-cost strategies and techniques for landscape restoration. The most widely used restoration strategies involving planting of tree seedlings are often costly and their application for restoring vast expanses of degraded forest lands in the region may be limited. Case studies and experiences with natural regeneration from the region have shown that natural regeneration significantly reduces the cost of restoration in areas that meet certain conditions. Native species that are adapted to the prevailing conditions re-establish on their own with some assistance, achieving accelerated growth in accordance with natural succession, leading to the recovery of native ecosystems. Restoration strategies based on natural regeneration also provide low-cost opportunities for conserving biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and watershed protection. Despite these economic and environmental advantages, natural regeneration is often overlooked when restoration policies and programmes are designed for a number of reasons. These include lack of its recognition as a viable restoration option; perverse incentives favouring clearing of young secondary growth for plantation development or other land uses; lack of institutional support by government agencies and other organizations; unclear tenure and property rights; lack of incentives for local communities; and uncertainty about the restoration processes and outcomes. This publication aims to share information on the outcome of the regional workshop, entitled ‘Promoting the Role of Natural Regeneration in Large-scale Forest and Landscape Restoration: Challenges and Opportunities, held in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, from 19 to 21 June 2017, which was organized to better understand the challenges and opportunities for natural forest regeneration and to promote its inclusion as a major component of large-scale restoration initiatives.
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    Policy brief
    Science, practice, and policy expert dialogue on food systems and resilience: Key priorities for aligning global ecosystem restoration, biodiversity, climate resilience and sustainable food policies with local level action 2022
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    The policy brief is a reflection upon key take home messages from the constellation of thinking and events in 2021 through a lens of science, practice, and policy with concrete examples from countries participating the Resilient Food Systems Programme. These include; the UN Food Systems Summit; updated evidence and deeper commitments to addressing climate change through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC Climate Change 2021) and the 26th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; and opportunities to intensify efforts on biodiversity and restoring land health included in the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD).

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