Global land restoration gains ground, but falls short of commitments
Global restoration now covers 124 million hectares but delivers only 10% of pledges
More than 124 million hectares of land are currently under restoration, rehabilitation or improved management worldwide. That figure comes from a new analysis by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, released at the UN desertification conference in Mongolia this August. However, the total represents only 10.4% of the area countries have formally pledged to restore under international agreements.
The gap is stark. Countries have made ambitious commitments over the past decade through frameworks including the Bonn Challenge and the Rio Conventions. Earlier assessments estimated total pledges at between 765 million and one billion hectares. Meanwhile, actual delivery remains a fraction of that scale, even as restoration projects expand across continents.
For UK businesses with exposure to global supply chains, land use regulation, or nature-based investment, the findings highlight both opportunity and risk. Restoration is no longer a marginal conservation activity. It now shapes commodity markets, carbon accounting, and regulatory expectations. At the same time, the slow pace of implementation signals financing gaps, policy uncertainty, and delivery challenges that could affect long-term planning.
IUCN releases updated global restoration database at UNCCD COP17
The International Union for Conservation of Nature published its Global Land Restoration Achievement Database during the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The event took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August 2026. The conference theme was