Croatia has completed a nationwide demining campaign, declaring itself free of landmines more than three decades after the Yugoslav wars left large parts of the country contaminated.
Kazakhstan has restored a third of the North Aral Sea’s water volume through dams, improved water management and regional cooperation, reviving ecosystems and fishing livelihoods after decades of decline.
A major restoration effort in Ukraine's Danube Delta has reconnected Lake Kartal to the River Danube, reviving more than 18,000 hectares of wetland and reversing decades of ecological decline.
Costa Rica has reversed decades of deforestation, with natural forests expanding from less than 25% of the country in 1985 to well over half of its land today.
Saudi Arabia has reintroduced the red-necked ostrich to its deserts for the first time in almost 100 years, restoring a key species to support biodiversity and ecosystem balance.
Saplings grown from a beloved sycamore are being planted across the United Kingdom, turning an act of loss into a nationwide symbol of renewal and hope in 2025.
Spain and Bulgaria have released new cinereous vultures into the wild, marking a major step in restoring one of Europe’s largest scavenging birds to landscapes where it vanished decades ago.
In Zunyi, China, the Chishui River — the only major Yangtze tributary with no dam along its main course — is flowing freely again after years of dedicated restoration.
Brazilian forest restoration is accelerating, thanks to networks of native seed collectors powering projects to revive millions of hectares of degraded land.
The Chicago River, once heavily polluted, is showing strong signs of revival — more fish species, clean water projects, and even plans to swim downtown again mark real environmental recovery.
