By Abbas Nazil
The United Nations has warned that the world is facing a narrowing window to restore forests, as continued deforestation and degradation threaten food security, biodiversity, climate resilience and livelihoods.
The warning was contained in the latest State of the World’s Forests report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which urged governments to make forest and landscape restoration a national priority.
The report said more than 489 million hectares of forest had been cleared globally since 1990, while an even larger area had suffered degradation.
It noted that although countries and organisations had made progress in forest protection and tree planting, global action remained far behind existing restoration commitments.
According to the report, more than one billion hectares of land had been targeted for restoration through national, regional and global initiatives over the past two decades, but only about one-fifth of the pledged area was currently being restored.
The FAO said the pace of restoration was insufficient to meet growing global needs, warning that continued delays could increase the environmental, economic and social costs of forest degradation.
Forests cover about 4.14 billion hectares, representing roughly one-third of the Earth’s land surface, and store an estimated 714 gigatonnes of carbon.
They also support up to 80 per cent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and play a major role in regulating rainfall and supporting food security.
Nearly one-third of the global population also depends on forests for their livelihoods, highlighting the economic and social importance of maintaining healthy forest ecosystems.
However, the report said forests were facing growing pressure from fires, insects, diseases and extreme weather events, alongside agricultural expansion, climate change, pollution and the extraction of fossil fuels and other natural resources.
It said about 127 million hectares of forest are affected by fires every year, adding further pressure to ecosystems already weakened by human activities and climate-related threats.
The FAO warned that the growing gap between demand for forest products and sustainable supply posed a threat to ecological integrity and the long-term viability of forest-based economies.
It said restoring degraded forests and other ecosystems could deliver substantial benefits for people, food security and economies.
According to the report, restoring one billion hectares of degraded land could generate an estimated $1.8 trillion in benefits every year.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said forest and landscape restoration should no longer be viewed solely as an environmental issue but as a strategic investment in resilient agrifood systems and rural development.
He warned that delays or poorly designed restoration programmes could increase long-term costs, worsen inequalities and leave landscapes locked into unsustainable conditions.
Qu Dongyu stressed that the continued loss and degradation of forest ecosystems, combined with rising global demand for land-based products and services, made it urgent for countries to significantly scale up effective restoration efforts.
The FAO therefore called for stronger national action to protect remaining forests, restore degraded landscapes and ensure that restoration initiatives are sufficiently ambitious and effective to address the growing environmental and socioeconomic challenges facing the world.
