Global restoration funding must quadruple to meet 2030 targets

A UN report launched Thursday at the COP17 biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, says global restoration funding must quadruple from $64 billion to $296 billion annually to meet 2030 targets. The report, released at the halfway point of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, finds 252 million hectares across 149 countries are under restoration, creating over one million green jobs. However, acceleration is needed, particularly for freshwater, marine, and coastal ecosystems, to restore roughly one billion hectares by 2030. UN officials say restoration works but must be sustained and integrated into land and water management. Restoring 15 percent of priority areas could prevent 60 percent of projected species extinctions, though marine restoration lags significantly behind terrestrial efforts.