This year closes with an obvious gap between the slow pace of change in the halls of power as exemplified by Climate COP25 negotiations, and the urgency of people taking to the streets armed with the latest science. Within this challenging space, we still made progress through the declaration of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the launch of a regional initiative to bring 30 million hectares into restoration by 2030 in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia under the Bonn Challenge. In 2019, Bonn Challenge pledges reached 172.5 million hectares. Even more encouragingly, in a sample of 13 countries we found that over half of the total amount pledged was being actively realised - with silviculture, natural regeneration and agroforestry the predominant restoration strategies. Inroads have been made in engaging the private sector and in linking forest conservation and restoration to critical development, biodiversity, land degradation neutrality and climate change agendas. But the challenge remains for IUCN and our partners to push even harder to raise ambitions and nurture strong forest conservation, equitable governance and restoration leadership as we turn our attention to 2020 and beyond. Carole Saint-Laurent, Deputy Director, Forest Conservation Programme, IUCN; Head of Secretariat, Bonn Challenge; Coordinator, Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration
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