UN warns of ‘narrowing window’ to restore world’s forests — SkimNews
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- The UN FAO's "State of the World's Forests" report warned of a "narrowing window" to restore forests essential for food security and climate resilience, noting that more than 489 million hectares (1.2 billion acres) of forest have been cleared since 1990.
- Restoration pledges covering more than 1 billion hectares have been made by national, regional, and global initiatives over the past two decades, but barely a fifth of that land is actually being restored, the report found.
- World forests cover 4.14 billion hectares — roughly a third of Earth's land surface — and store 714 gigatonnes of carbon while hosting up to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, with nearly one-third of the global population depending on them for livelihoods.
- Annual threats are intensifying: about 127 million hectares of forest are affected by fires each year, with further damage from insects, diseases, and severe weather, layered on top of farm expansion, pollution, and fossil fuel extraction.
- The FAO estimates that restoring 1 billion hectares of degraded land would generate $1.8 trillion in benefits annually for people, food security, and the economy.
- FAO Director General Qu Dongyu said the window for action is narrowing, warning that "delayed or poorly designed restoration will increase long-term costs, exacerbate inequalities and risk locking landscapes into unsustainable trajectories."
Why it matters: Forests cover a third of Earth's land, store 714 gigatonnes of carbon, and sustain nearly a third of humanity's livelihoods — so the gap between 1 billion hectares promised and barely a fifth actually restored directly threatens food security and climate goals, with the FAO estimating $1.8 trillion in annual benefits per billion hectares restored that remain unrealized.
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