UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation: FAO Will Work With Members For A Greener And More Resilient Future For People And The Planet
03 October 2026, Rome: FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said the Organization stands ready to support the forthcoming UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation, describing it as an opportunity to accelerate efforts to address forest and land degradation and restore productive landscapes.
Speaking at a High-Level event held during the 28th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Committee on Forestry (COFO), the Director-General noted that 1.56 billion hectares of land are degraded globally, including 460 million hectares of forest land, according to FAO’s latest State of the World’s Forests (SOFO 2026) report. At the same time, 645 million people face hunger worldwide.
“Land degradation and food insecurity are deeply interconnected, with impacts felt disproportionately in the Global South,” Qu said. “We need landscapes that produce more while remaining resilient, biodiverse and capable of providing the ecosystem services we depend on. This is why restoration is so critical.”
As highlighted in SOFO 2026, forest and landscape restoration can deliver multiple benefits, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, food security and socio-economic resilience.
Under favourable conditions, every dollar invested in forest and landscape restoration can generate an estimated $30 in benefits, while restoring 1 billion hectares of degraded land could provide up to $1.8 trillion annually.
FAO has long supported its Members in restoring degraded forests and lands, and those efforts are delivering results: more than 206 million hectares are now under restoration across 62 countries.
However, progress remains insufficient, since 470 million hectares need to be restored to meet the 2030 targets.
Maximizing the number of restored hectares is not enough, however.
“We need long-term, high-quality restoration that delivers lasting economic, social and environmental benefits, guided by internationally agreed principles and adapted to local contexts,” he said.
According to Qu, the UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation “will allow us to build on progress achieved and to mobilize further action, engage countries and partners, and strengthen knowledge, evidence and data sharing, and exchange of good practices.”
The United Nations Decade of Afforestation and Reforestation for Sustainable Forest Management runs from 2027 to 2036. The initative was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2025.
The Director-General said FAO stands ready to support the new UN Decade by continuing to work with Members towards a greener, more resilient future for people and the planet.
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