Initial situation
According to estimations by the UNCCD, desertification and degradation are responsible for a global annual loss of 12 million hectares of arable land. This leads to large amounts of carbon being released, a decrease in biodiversity and the loss of vital functions within the ecological system. The continuous degradation of land and soil increases the impacts and consequences of climate change, such as floods, heavy rain or droughts. In many cases areas with high poverty rates are affected, where loss of harvests and food shortages make the situation even worse for the local community.
Over the past five years, numerous international projects have been set up to restore the degraded landscapes and better adapt to climate change in general. This includes initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge (150 million ha by 2020), the New York Declaration on Forests (350 million ha by 2030) and the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN by 2030), as well as regional initiatives such as the 20x20 Initiative (20 million ha by 2020 in Latin America), or the AFR 100 Initiative (100 million ha by 2030).
A part of these initiatives is to promote projects designed to achieving these objectives through sustainable agriculture or forestry, protective measures and ecotourism. The sources of finance for the forest landscape restoration initiatives range from governmental support to public-private-partnerships (PPP) and exclusively private sector initiatives.