WORK IN PROGRESS
Four additional countries have applied the Barometer but their progress could not be included in the 2022 report because they are completing the validation process.
IUCN looks forward to showcasing data from these countries on the Restoration Barometer website soon and adding these further chapters to the story of restoration progress worldwide.
Ecuador
Restoration in Ecuador covers the full restorative continuum, from improvement in the quality of protected areas to community forestry to revegetation of degraded areas. A suite of policies, plans and incentives provide the foundation for this, including the National Climate Change Strategy 2012-2025 and the Law No. 182 on the Fund for Forest Restoration, among several others. This enabling framework is complemented by programmes since 2012 to strengthen the capacities and skills of farming families in the Ecuadorian Amazon region. The country’s stated objectives for restoration of degraded landscapes and deforested areas are to protect biodiversity, water resources and soils, recover ecosystem services, mitigation climate change, strengthen social and economic development and improve the quality of life of its peoples. The Barometer has been applied however the data has not yet been fully validated by national experts.
India
India has committed to the restoration 13 million ha of degraded and deforested land by 2020 and an additional 8 million ha by 2030. Progress has previously been reported and the Restoration Barometer is now being applied to update this assessment of progress. Data has been collected from various state agencies and non-governmental organisations on their restoration efforts and is awaiting final validation. Progress monitoring has been complemented since 2019 by a flagship project to build capacity on forest landscape restoration (FLR) and the Bonn Challenge in partnership with IUCN. The aim of the project is to develop and adapt best practices and monitoring protocols for the Indian states and build capacity within the five pilot states on forest landscape restoration and Bonn Challenge. India continues to apply the Barometer to track its progress not only on global goals related to biodiversity, climate change and land degradation but to understand and demonstrate how restoration is helping to meet the country’s own sustainable development pathway. In-country Barometer data validation is expected to be completed soon.
Pakistan
Originally, the province of Khyber Pakhtun Khwa in Pakistan made and fulfilled a pledge to the Bonn Challenge and then this effort was extended nationally. Restoration efforts are being implemented through various means, including as part of The Restoration Initiative (TRI) project, supported by the Global Environment Facility. That project focuses on the improved and sustainable management of Chilgoza forests, thus leading to the generation of multiple products, services and functions. These include improved local livelihoods through Chilgoza pine nut value addition, value chain development and climate change mitigation. Restoration of mangroves has been another priority for Pakistan. These programmes are showing a positive trend including in the creation of ‘nature jobs.’ The process of validation of Barometer data by in-country partners is underway.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s restoration of the Aral Sea is a one-off sensitive situation of responding to an unprecedented ecological disaster. One approach has been through the planting of the saxaul tree which thrives in sandy soils and can play a big role in lessening poisonous dust storms. When this work was initiated, few alternatives were known to be suitable for rapidly stabilizing the soils of the Aral Sea and preventing further harmful dust storms. Afforestation has addressed immediate threats to human health and worsening environmental conditions. Moving forward, local and expert consultation and integrated planning will help to situate these efforts within the restoration of the broader Aral Sea landscape. It will be interesting to see what mix of integrated restoration approaches at this wide scale would generate a range of benefits such as food production and generating incomes for local peoples, while aligning with the principles of ecosystem restoration and forest landscapes restoration. In the meantime, translation and review of data and expert consultations will continue.