A World of Opportunity for Forest and Landscape Restoration

The document identifies over two billion hectares of global land suitable for restoration, primarily in tropical and temperate regions. It categorizes these opportunities into wide-scale, mosaic, and remote restoration, emphasizing that restoration is a complementary strategy to avoiding deforestation for sequestering carbon and improving ecosystem services.

• More than two billion hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes worldwide offer restoration opportunities, an area described as being larger than South America, with the majority located in tropical and temperate regions.
• Restoration opportunities are divided into three primary categories based on human pressure and land-use: mosaic restoration (1.5 billion hectares) combining forests with other land uses like agroforestry; wide-scale restoration (up to 0.5 billion hectares) for closed forests in less populated areas; and remote restoration (200 million hectares) in unpopulated areas, primarily northern boreal forests, which may be difficult to restore.
• An additional one billion hectares of croplands and settled areas on former forest lands do not offer extensive area-based restoration but can benefit from strategic tree planting to protect waterways, prevent soil erosion, and enhance agricultural productivity.
• Forest and landscape restoration is defined as an active process that exceeds simple afforestation or reforestation, requiring the engagement of local stakeholders and a landscape-wide approach to balance ecological, social, and economic benefits.
• Restoration is presented as a complementary measure to avoiding deforestation, as restoration opportunities are typically located far from areas where current deforestation is concentrated, allowing more countries to contribute to climate change mitigation.
• The assessment references international targets, including the Convention on Biological Diversity's Target 15, which aims to restore at least 15 percent of degraded ecosystems by 2020 to enhance carbon stocks and ecosystem resilience.

APA

Minnemeyer, S., Laestadius, L., Sizer, N., Saint-Laurent, C., & Potapov, P. (n.d.). A World of Opportunity for Forest and Landscape Restoration. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/world_of_opportunity_brochure_2011-09.pdf

Chicago

Minnemeyer, Susan, Lars Laestadius, Nigel Sizer, Carole Saint-Laurent, and Peter Potapov. A World of Opportunity for Forest and Landscape Restoration. World Resources Institute, n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/world_of_opportunity_brochure_2011-09.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Minnemeyer |first1=Susan |last2=Laestadius |first2=Lars |last3=Sizer |first3=Nigel |last4=Saint-Laurent |first4=Carole |last5=Potapov |first5=Peter |title=A World of Opportunity for Forest and Landscape Restoration |publisher=World Resources Institute |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/world_of_opportunity_brochure_2011-09.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{minnemeyerndworld, author = {Minnemeyer, Susan and Laestadius, Lars and Sizer, Nigel and Saint-Laurent, Carole and Potapov, Peter}, title = {{A World of Opportunity for Forest and Landscape Restoration}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/world_of_opportunity_brochure_2011-09.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }