FAO Commits to Landscape Restoration at 20x20 Summit

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reiterated its support for landscape restoration as a critical strategy for sustainable development and climate resilience during the Annual Summit of the 20x20 Initiative. 

Eve Crowley, Deputy Regional Representative, FAO in Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasized the organization's continued engagement in restoring degraded ecosystems across the region. The event was framed within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, jointly led by FAO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which aims to reverse ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss globally.

Crowley recognized the 20x20 Initiative as a country-led effort focused on protecting and restoring 50 million ha of forests, farmland, grasslands and other landscapes in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2030. She noted the initiative's contributions to reshaping the trajectory of land degradation in the region.

“Restoring productive landscapes is essential to building sustainable agrifood systems, generating green jobs and increasing the resilience of territories to extreme events,” Crowley said during the opening session.

Among the key programs highlighted was the Central American Dry Corridor and Arid Zones Restoration Initiative. Led by seven member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA), this initiative seeks to restore 300,000ha and create 5,000 green jobs by 2030. It is supported politically by the executive secretariats of the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) and the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), and receives technical backing from FAO, UNEP, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and CIFOR-ICRAF.

Crowley also noted that three of the 17 flagship restoration initiatives recognized under the UN Decade are in Latin America and the Caribbean. All are regional in scope and involve a wide network of partner organizations. “The region has shown strong commitment, from its contributions to the Bonn Challenge to its active participation in this summit. FAO will continue to support partnerships, best practices, and public policies that promote better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind,” Crowley said. 

The 20x20 Summit underscored that ecosystem restoration is both feasible and urgent. With strong alliances, political will and regional cooperation, Latin America and the Caribbean continue to lead in delivering climate action and advancing biodiversity, water security and social well-being across the region.