Building a business model next challenge in forest restoration
At the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Mongolia this month the conversation shifted from how much land countries can pledge to how restoration can pay for itself
Restoring forests and landscapes has become a global priority, with ambitious targets set by governments to combat deforestation and desertification. However, the success of these restoration efforts hinges on a key challenge: financing and sustaining them beyond the initial donor projects. At the UNEP-Korea Forest Service event during the UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, participants debated how to overcome this financial hurdle.
Current global investment in land restoration, which increased from $37 billion in 2016 to $66 billion in 2022, is still only about one-fifth of what is needed to meet the UNCCD's estimate of $355 billion annually by 2030. Carbon finance, which involves paying for carbon absorbed by forests, has been proposed as a solution but has faced integrity concerns and criticisms of inadequate flow to local communities.
The successful restoration models emphasize building long-term economic systems that integrate credible measurement, community enterprises, and robust monitoring systems. The SAFE Initiative, a partnership between the Korea Forest Service and UNEP, is a test case for this approach, restoring over 120 hectares of degraded forest in Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam while engaging over 2,000 households.
The initiative focuses on combining restoration, monitoring, and enterprise development to create sustainable, community-driven economic systems that can attract long-term investment.
Written by urgent.news from Vietnam Investment Review's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
