Leading the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030: A Multi-Partner Trust Fund to Mobilize Global Action

Ecosystem degradation poses an increasing threat to key objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Against this background, the United Nations has proclaimed the Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (UN Decade). The Multi Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) acts as the funding vehicle for the UN Decade, fostering a global movement in support of the three UN Decade goals: changing societal norms and catalysing investments in restoration, mobilising political will that leads to reforms incentivising restoration, and building technical capacities. Activities include global dialogues and partnerships, communication and awareness building, support of selected flagship programmes, and monitoring progress in ecosystem restoration. The outcomes of these interventions will be the development of a global restoration culture and a new restoration economy, which greatly accelerates the starting and scaling up of restoration initiatives.

Project data

Countries: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Niger, Panama, Saint Lucia, Vanuatu
IKI funding: 21,000,000.00 €
Duration: 09/2021 till 12/2026
Status: open
Implementing organisation: United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)
Political Partner: Diverse climate change relevant institutions in the respective partner countries/Diverse klimarelevante Institutionen in den entsprechenden Partnerländern
Implementing Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) - Switzerland

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State of implementation/results

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is currently in its implementation phase, highlighting 17 flagship initiatives that collectively aim to restore over 100 million hectares and create more than five million green jobs. These UN World Restoration Flagships are characterized by innovative approaches and an extensive network of participants.
Five Task Forces – Best Practices, Finance, Monitoring, Science, and Youth – are supporting these flagship initiatives. The Science and Best Practices Task Forces lead transparent selection processes, supported by a review panel consisting of 34 members from the Decade Advisory Board, Task Forces, and global partners.
The ongoing media campaign for the new UN World Restoration Flagships has led to over 500 articles in international media outlets like CNN and The Guardian, reaching more than one billion people.
The UN Decade participated in UNFCCC COP28, as well as CBD COP16 in Cali and UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, to link the topic of restoration with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
A global campaign for World Environment Day 2024 included digital and print media in several regions. A Practical Guide to Land Degradation and Restoration was downloaded over 60,000 times. Additionally, the Generation Restoration campaign was launched to support the GBF, with a video that achieved 1.4 million views. A viral social media competition engaged celebrities, communities, children, and youth worldwide.
During the second call for the Youth Taskforce, more than 1000 young people applied to become one of the 25 selected representatives for the global initiative. The selection results will be announced soon.
From September 2024 to March 2025, the UN Decade website recorded nearly 300,000 views, remaining a central platform featuring numerous contributions from partners, including web stories, events, and publications.
A Business Enhancement Group (BEG) under the Decade Advisory Board has moved from planning to active strategy development, aiming to scale the flagship initiatives through private sector engagement.
The Ecosystem Restoration Hub is now fully operational, encompassing 71 restoration initiatives across over 30 million hectares.
Challenge 5.1 of the Action Plan, co-led by the International Land Coalition and the UN Decade, aims to secure the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities as stewards of restoration, fostering a global movement for community-led restoration efforts.
The Monitoring Framework of the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at CBD COP16 in February 2025. The FAO, working with the Monitoring Task Force, developed a monitoring methodology. The FERM platform integrates data from various sources, improving the consistency of reporting. The Monitoring Task Force consists of over 400 members from more than 120 organizations, and in 2023, it grew by 63 new members and hosted several workshops to strengthen the scientific basis for restoration projects.
To raise public awareness of restoration, the RESTORE documentary series now includes 17 episodes, reaching over five million viewers on YouTube. Additional podcast episodes and interactive digital formats have been created to further promote the visibility of the initiatives.
A learning session on Artificial Intelligence and ecosystem restoration, organized by the UN Decade and Salesforce, attracted 800 registered participants.
For 2025, ten new UN World Restoration Flagships are planned, alongside a large-scale communication campaign featuring documentaries, press outreach, and social media activities in ten countries. In addition to these media efforts, an international expert forum on the future of restoration will be organized, bringing together scientists, businesses, and NGOs.