Forest and Landscape Restoration: FAO Releases The State of the World’s Forests 2026
Par Martin Fillot, AIFM
With the publication of The State of the World’s Forests 2026, FAO highlights the essential role of forest and landscape restoration in building a sustainable future. The report explores pathways for scaling up restoration, restoring ecosystem functions and strengthening the resilience of landscapes and communities.
Restoration as a response to global challenges
FAO has published the 2026 edition of its flagship report, The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO), entitled “Restoring forests and landscapes: the way forward for a sustainable future.”
This year’s edition focuses on forest and landscape restoration as an essential approach to addressing the interconnected challenges facing forest ecosystems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and the growing vulnerability of rural communities.
Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, global restoration commitments and practical experiences from different regions of the world, the report explores how restoration can recover ecosystem functions, strengthen landscape resilience, support sustainable production systems and contribute to inclusive rural development.
Restoration goes beyond simply increasing tree cover. It encompasses a wide range of approaches adapted to the ecological and socio-economic characteristics of each territory, including natural regeneration, wetland restoration, sustainable land management and improved habitat connectivity.
It therefore provides an opportunity to reconcile biodiversity conservation, sustainable natural resource management and territorial development.
Four pathways for scaling up restoration
The report identifies four mutually reinforcing pathways for accelerating and sustaining restoration efforts:
👥 People. The involvement of local communities, Indigenous Peoples and other local stakeholders is essential to designing tailored restoration interventions, fostering local ownership and ensuring their long-term sustainability. Participatory planning can also help reduce land-use conflicts and promote the shared management of natural resources.
🌳 Land. Restoration should be approached at the landscape level, taking into account the interactions between forest ecosystems, agricultural land, wetlands and other natural environments. Interventions should be adapted to local ecological conditions and prioritise the recovery of ecosystem functions.
💶 Finance and business. Scaling up restoration requires sustainable financing and business models capable of supporting interventions over the long term. The report highlights the potential of restoration to create jobs, revitalise production systems and generate environmental and socio-economic benefits.
⚖️ Policy coherence and law. Long-term national commitments, appropriate regulatory frameworks and better coordination across sectoral policies are essential to creating the enabling conditions for scaling up restoration.
These four pathways need to be supported by strengthened knowledge, quality standards, capacity development, monitoring and adaptive learning.
Practical experiences and lessons for restoration
The report presents 18 case studies from diverse regions and ecosystems, illustrating the wide range of approaches that can contribute to successful forest and landscape restoration.
These experiences show that restoration can create jobs, revitalise production systems and reduce climate and disaster risks. They also demonstrate the importance of community-led planning, long-term national commitments and approaches adapted to local ecological and socio-economic contexts.
The diversity of the case studies highlights that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Successful restoration requires a clear understanding of ecosystems, the pressures they face and the needs and aspirations of local communities.
Long-term monitoring, knowledge sharing and adaptive management are therefore essential to assess results, improve practices and ensure that restoration delivers lasting benefits.
Forest and landscape restoration in the Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean region, forests and natural landscapes are particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change, increasing drought, wildfires, soil degradation and biodiversity loss.
Forest and landscape restoration is therefore a key component of efforts to strengthen the resilience of Mediterranean territories, maintain ecosystem functions, conserve biodiversity and protect natural resources.
The approaches highlighted in SOFO 2026 resonate strongly with the challenges and initiatives developed across the Mediterranean, where restoration requires integrated approaches combining scientific knowledge, local expertise, effective governance and the involvement of local communities.
AIFM and RESCOM: contributing to restoration in the Mediterranean
In this context, the International Association for Mediterranean Forests (AIFM) contributes, together with its partners, to the conservation and restoration of Mediterranean ecosystems through the RESCOM project, implemented within the framework of the Mediterranean Biodiversity Consortium (MBC), of which AIFM is a member. In Tunisia, at Oued Ezzen National Park, and in Morocco, at Bouhachem Natural Park, RESCOM supports forest and wetland ecosystem restoration through nature-based approaches, stakeholder dialogue and local community involvement. These initiatives aim to strengthen the resilience of Mediterranean landscapes, conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable natural resource management, reflecting several of the principles highlighted by FAO in The State of the World’s Forests 2026.
Read the report
Through The State of the World’s Forests 2026, FAO aims to support countries and partners in planning, implementing, monitoring and scaling up forest and landscape restoration as a pathway towards a sustainable future.
📖 Read The State of the World’s Forests 2026 – FAO
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