The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America

The report argues that large-scale landscape restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean is economically attractive, estimating a net present value of $23 billion over 50 years for the restoration of 20 million hectares. The analysis identifies agricultural productivity gains and carbon sequestration as the primary drivers of economic value, though results vary significantly by biome and degree of degradation. The study emphasizes that such efforts are critical for the region to achieve a low-carbon development path and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change.

• Restoring 20 million hectares of degraded land in Latin America and the Caribbean is estimated to yield a net present value (NPV) of approximately $23 billion over a 50-year period, averaging about $1,140 per hectare.
• Agricultural outputs provide the highest net gain in net present value per hectare ($274), followed closely by carbon revenues ($270) and non-wood forest products ($245).
• Economic returns from restoration vary by biome, with wet biomes yielding an average NPV of about $1,700/ha and dry biomes yielding about $600/ha.
• The highest economic gains are associated with the restoration of severely degraded lands in wet biomes, while the lowest gains are expected from moderately degraded lands in dry biomes.
• Meeting the goals of Initiative 20x20 would result in the sequestration of approximately 1.34 gigatons of carbon (or 4.8 to 4.92 gigatons of CO2e) over 50 years.
• The net present value of restoration is highly sensitive to carbon pricing; at $0/ton of CO2, the NPV is $869/ha, but it rises to $3,291/ha if the price is $20/ton.
• Land-use change and unsustainable agricultural activities are the primary drivers of climate change in the region, accounting for 56 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.
• Degraded lands, which have lost natural productivity due to human activity, account for over 20 percent of forest and agricultural lands in Latin America and the Caribbean, totaling approximately 300 million hectares of degraded forests and 350 million hectares of deforested lands.

APA

Vergara, W., Lomeli, L. G., Rios, A. R., Isbell, P., Prager, S., & De Camino, R. (n.d.). The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/The_Economic_Case_for_Landscape_Restoration_in_Latin_America.pdf

Chicago

Vergara, Walter, Luciana Gallardo Lomeli, Ana R. Rios, Paul Isbell, Steven Prager, and Ronnie De Camino. The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America. World Resources Institute, n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/The_Economic_Case_for_Landscape_Restoration_in_Latin_America.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vergara |first1=Walter |last2=Lomeli |first2=Luciana Gallardo |last3=Rios |first3=Ana R. |last4=Isbell |first4=Paul |last5=Prager |first5=Steven |last6=De Camino |first6=Ronnie |title=The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America |publisher=World Resources Institute |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/The_Economic_Case_for_Landscape_Restoration_in_Latin_America.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vergarandeconomic, author = {Vergara, Walter and Lomeli, Luciana Gallardo and Rios, Ana R. and Isbell, Paul and Prager, Steven and De Camino, Ronnie}, title = {{The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/The_Economic_Case_for_Landscape_Restoration_in_Latin_America.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }