A Billion Hectares Could Be Restored… with As Little As 0.04% of GDP

A recent study proves that global land restoration is achievable at a fraction of the annual global gross domestic product (GDP), provided that international financial support is granted to low-income countries, which account for almost half of all global restoration commitments.

“Poor countries bear the greatest restoration needs but are the least able to finance the needed restoration action,” explains restoration expert Robin Chazdon. “This fact underscores the urgent need for cost-sharing mechanisms across countries and implementation of low-cost and landscape-scale restoration approaches when the conditions are suitable.”

An analysis of 243 restoration projects showed costs ranging from $185 per hectare for forest management to over $3,000 per hectare for silvopasture systems. 115 countries have pledged to restore about 1 billion hectares of degraded land – roughly the size of Canada! – at an estimated cost of $311 billion to $2.1 trillion, representing just 0.04% to 0.24% of global GDP over 10 years. Nearly half of all global restoration commitments are in Sub-Saharan Africa. The region would have to spend 3.7% of its annual GDP to fulfil its pledges, so variations of Payment for Ecosystem Services and unconditional subsidies could help bridge the funding gap. According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, every dollar spent on restoring degraded land brings between $7 and $30 in economic returns. This shows that not restoring the ecosystem could be significantly more costly than taking action now.