regulation, and the well-being of rural and urban populations (Baccini et al. 2017;
Watson et al. 2018).
However, over 140 Mha of restoration commitments have been pledged across
the global tropics, providing great potential benefits and cost-effective outcomes
(Brancalion et al. 2019). Brancalion et al. (2019) found restoration opportunities
throughout the tropics, with areas scoring in the top 10% (i.e., restoration hotspots)
located largely within conservation hotspots (88%) and in countries committed to the
Bonn Challenge (73%), a global effort to restore 350 Mha of forest by 2030.
However, these restoration hotspots represented only a small proportion (19.1%)
of the Key Biodiversity Area network.
In conclusion, it is hypothesized that concentrating restoration investments in
landscapes with high benefits and feasibility would maximize the potential to
mitigate anthropogenic impacts and improve human well-being. However, agricultural land already occupies 37.3% of the global ice-free land surface and is still
increasing in extent (Godfray et al. 2010).
On a global scale, investing in landscape restoration has many benefits, is highly
feasible, and contributes to global conservation and sustainable development commitments. For example, the Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
developed as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Goals 14.2, 15.1, and 15.3), the nationally determined contributions to the Paris
Climate Agreement, and the New York Declaration on Forests rely heavily on
restoration to achieve their objectives (Brancalion and Chazdon 2017; Holl 2017;
Chazdon et al. 2017). However, at the local scale, there is almost no incentive to
invest in landscape restoration, because people and tropical countries cannot support
themselves through these investments. To survive, the people of the tropics need
both food and energy. However, investments in landscape restoration represent a
trade-off between food and energy production.
6.1.2.2 Forest Distribution Map
The world has lost 178 million ha of forest since 1990 (FAO 2020). The rate of net
forest loss decreased substantially over the period from 1990 to 2020 due to a
reduction in deforestation in some countries and increases in forest area in others
through afforestation and the natural expansion of forests. The rate of net forest loss
declined from 7.8 million ha per year in 1990–2000 to 5.2 million ha per year in
2000–2010 and 4.7 million ha per year in 2010–2020. The rate of decline in net
forest loss slowed in the most recent decade due to a reduction in the rate of forest
expansion.
The world has a total forest area of 4.06 billion hectares (ha), which is 31% of the
total land area. This area is equivalent to 0.52 ha per person, although forests are not
distributed equally among the global population or geographically. The tropical
domain has the largest proportion of the world’s forests (45%), followed by the
boreal, temperate, and subtropical domains (Fig. 6.6). More than half (54%) of the
6 Natural Capital-Based Societies in the Tropics
207
Watson et al. 2018).
However, over 140 Mha of restoration commitments have been pledged across
the global tropics, providing great potential benefits and cost-effective outcomes
(Brancalion et al. 2019). Brancalion et al. (2019) found restoration opportunities
throughout the tropics, with areas scoring in the top 10% (i.e., restoration hotspots)
located largely within conservation hotspots (88%) and in countries committed to the
Bonn Challenge (73%), a global effort to restore 350 Mha of forest by 2030.
However, these restoration hotspots represented only a small proportion (19.1%)
of the Key Biodiversity Area network.
In conclusion, it is hypothesized that concentrating restoration investments in
landscapes with high benefits and feasibility would maximize the potential to
mitigate anthropogenic impacts and improve human well-being. However, agricultural land already occupies 37.3% of the global ice-free land surface and is still
increasing in extent (Godfray et al. 2010).
On a global scale, investing in landscape restoration has many benefits, is highly
feasible, and contributes to global conservation and sustainable development commitments. For example, the Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
developed as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Goals 14.2, 15.1, and 15.3), the nationally determined contributions to the Paris
Climate Agreement, and the New York Declaration on Forests rely heavily on
restoration to achieve their objectives (Brancalion and Chazdon 2017; Holl 2017;
Chazdon et al. 2017). However, at the local scale, there is almost no incentive to
invest in landscape restoration, because people and tropical countries cannot support
themselves through these investments. To survive, the people of the tropics need
both food and energy. However, investments in landscape restoration represent a
trade-off between food and energy production.
6.1.2.2 Forest Distribution Map
The world has lost 178 million ha of forest since 1990 (FAO 2020). The rate of net
forest loss decreased substantially over the period from 1990 to 2020 due to a
reduction in deforestation in some countries and increases in forest area in others
through afforestation and the natural expansion of forests. The rate of net forest loss
declined from 7.8 million ha per year in 1990–2000 to 5.2 million ha per year in
2000–2010 and 4.7 million ha per year in 2010–2020. The rate of decline in net
forest loss slowed in the most recent decade due to a reduction in the rate of forest
expansion.
The world has a total forest area of 4.06 billion hectares (ha), which is 31% of the
total land area. This area is equivalent to 0.52 ha per person, although forests are not
distributed equally among the global population or geographically. The tropical
domain has the largest proportion of the world’s forests (45%), followed by the
boreal, temperate, and subtropical domains (Fig. 6.6). More than half (54%) of the
6 Natural Capital-Based Societies in the Tropics
207