1. Introduction

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) was adopted by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 2022. Among the Framework’s key elements are four goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. Target 2 of the KM-GBF states: “Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 percent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.”

Target 2 is critically important to the KM-GBF because human-induced habitat degradation over decades has resulted in a decline in biodiversity; ecosystem functions and services; and resilience in terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems. It is viewed as imperative to setting and achieving many goals and targets of the KM-GBF, including the recovery of biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem functions and services. It is central to Goals A and B and is tightly linked to Target 1 on landscape and seascape approaches and spatial planning, Target 3 on protected and conserved areas,¹ Target 10 on sustainable production, Target 11 on nature’s contributions to people and many others. The role of restoration in helping to achieve other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) is also increasing. Due to overlapping commitments related to restoration, it is critical that countries coordinate restoration activities across agreements and align with national goals and policies. Effective restoration takes time to assess, plan, implement and monitor, and ecosystem recovery may take long periods of time. As such, it is critical that the restoration components of the KM-GBF are initiated in a timely manner and meet the 2030 deadline.

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, through its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, was the first agreement within the CBD process to explicitly call for restoration. Aichi Target 14 called for restoration to ensure the provision of essential ecosystem services. Aichi Target 15 called for the restoration of 15 percent of degraded ecosystems, thus contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and combating desertification. However, progress was limited. Despite the ambition of the Aichi Targets, degradation continued to outpace restoration globally, which exacerbated biodiversity loss and hindered the delivery of ecosystem services in many areas. Although the area committed to restoration was high, national strategies were mostly project focused, missing the opportunity to develop large-scale initiatives that integrated different strategies across the landscape. The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (CBD 2020) recommended a transformative pathway forward: “Efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity need to be scaled up at all levels using approaches that will depend on local context. These need to combine major increases in the extent and effectiveness of well-connected protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, large-scale restoration of degraded habitats, and improvements in the condition of nature across farmed and urban landscapes as well as inland water bodies, coasts and oceans.”

The purpose of this resource guide is to assist countries and partners in translating restoration commitments into restoration plans and programmes, and implementing restoration at scales called for in Target 2, including the development of indicators and monitoring and reporting protocols. It is not a stepwise prescriptive planning document, but rather explores key topics and provides resources essential to understanding and successfully setting targets and implementing plans for restoration, including the role of different key practitioners, implementers, and rights and knowledge holders such as Indigenous Peoples.

Section 2 explores the topic of what constitutes ecosystem restoration, including definitions and descriptions of key terms; Section 3 describes key elements of Target 2; Section 4 discusses other global initiatives aligned with Target 2; Section 5 describes how to integrate Target 2 into national biodiversity targets and updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs); Section 6 discusses how to implement restoration commitments for Target 2, based on the four major groups of activities identified in the Short-term Action Plan on Ecosystem Restoration (STAPER; CBD/COP/DEC/XIII/5); and Section 7 provides key information on required monitoring and reporting Target 2 at the national level.

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Central to achieving 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under restoration globally is the development or revision of national restoration targets and the incorporation of restoration into NBSAPs.

The selection of restoration targets requires the systematic assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation within countries and the prioritization of restoration actions.

Wherever possible, pre KM-GBF baseline conditions should be documented, taking into consideration that concepts of degradation are different between natural and production ecosystems. For example, increased nutrient levels in agricultural soils are generally beneficial, while they may be a form of degradation in many natural ecosystems. Acknowledging that key terms in Target 2 can be interpreted in different ways, it is essential that they are interpreted in the spirit of the KM-GBF to achieve rapid, ambitious and large-scale restoration of ecosystems globally (Bell-James et al., 2024). To assist in this process, this Resource Guide is especially focused on developing consistent definitions and descriptions of key terms and concepts that can facilitate the understanding, planning and implementation of effective ecosystem restoration by countries and their partners.

Different human rights-based approaches on ecosystem restoration are also relevant here, particularly in those that work with Indigenous Peoples, recognizing their unique rights and relationships with the environment. The Indigenous Peoples´ biocentric restoration approach, which combines traditional knowledge and cultural practices along with strengthening governance systems and recognizing their rights to their lands and territories, is essential for the effective management and conservation of biodiversity (Nelson et al., 2024). These efforts directly contribute to the success of targets 1, 2, 3 and 22.