Regional Action
Regional initiative
Ten African countries launched the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) in 2015 to bring 100 million hectares of land to restoration by 2030. AFR100 contributes to the Bonn Challenge, the African Union Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals, and other targets. Since its launch in 2015, AFR100 has secured political commitments in the region and defined restoration strategies. Currently, the initiative focuses on implementing forest landscape restoration (FLR) action plans and monitoring systems, and raising private investment for restoration.
High-level roundtable series
Since 2016, yearly high-level meetings in Africa built momentum for collaboration and political will to restore landscapes – attracting new pledges and funding. The first meeting in 2016 by the East African Community (EAC) in Rwanda resulted in the visionary Kigali Declaration. More countries forged agreements in succeeding years: the South African Development Community’s (SADC) Lilongwe Call for Action and African youths’ Niamey Call for Action in 2017, the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) agreement in 2018, and the Environment and Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Dakar Declaration in 2019.
High-level roundtable series
Asia’s first roundtable in 2017 ushered the Bonn Challenge past its 150-million-hectare pledge milestone three years before its goal year. Twelve Asian countries identified a need to draw in private investment, promote multi-stakeholder fora, and encourage the adoption of FLR in rural development, climate, and biodiversity initiatives. In 2019, the countries developed action plans to increase capacity development, share best practices, and embed the Bonn Challenge in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) priorities. The meetings also raised the adaptation of FLR to unique contexts, such as urban landscapes, steppes and taiga.
Aligned regional process
In 2016, member countries of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) and their partners developed the Regional Strategy and Action Plan for Forest and Landscape Restoration in Asia-Pacific. APFC formally endorsed this blueprint for regional collaboration in Sri Lanka a year later. The plan focuses on formulating projects, mobilising financing, raising awareness on FLR, reaching FLR targets, and setting FLR targets where they do not exist, such as in the Pacific region.
Regional initiative
Building on the region’s first high-level roundtable meeting in 2018, Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia launched ECCA30 in 2019 to bring 30 million hectares of degraded and deforested land into restoration by 2030. ECCA30 aims to accelerate progress on national goals and priorities, attract domestic, regional and global funding, provide access to technical support, and facilitate regional and international learning exchanges.
High-level roundtable series
In 2018, six countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus pledged to restore 2.5 million hectares through the Astana Resolution, which calls for policy dialogues, forest policy development and joint programming. South and southeast European countries are planning their own high-level roundtable meeting to set restoration priorities.
Aligned regional process
Ten countries in the Mediterranean region endorsed the Agadir Commitment in March 2017 to restore 8 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. The Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva Mediterranea, a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statutory body, led the initiative.
Regional initiative
Launched in Peru in 2014, Initiative 20x20 has been instrumental in connecting governments, investors, and technical partners to implement and scale up FLR in Latin America. The project supports the Bonn Challenge, with 17 Latin American countries pledging to bring 20 million hectares of degraded land into restoration by 2020.
High-level roundtable series
Latin America founded the regional platform model for the Bonn Challenge and FLR at the first Bonn Challenge high-level roundtable meeting in El Salvador in 2015. Subsequent meetings in Panama in 2016, Honduras in 2017, Guatemala in 2018, and Cuba in 2019 created space for decision makers to define national restoration commitments that generated region-wide impact in capacity building, South-South cooperation and financing.