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Vietnam has suffered deforestration and forest degradation during the past 40 years, and these processes are still issues of interest. Rapidly expanding populations and migration into forest areas are among the major reasons why pressures remain to clear forests to provide additional agricultural land. State Forest Enterprises have also contribute to forest degradation by engaging in unsustainable harvesting to meet production quotas set by contral government. The government has long recognised the need to rehabilitate the large areas of degraded forest land, and has established ambitious programmes to "re-green the barren hills" through the 327 programme structure. For now, another significant challenge is the need to change the culture of forestry agencies from one that emphasised control over forest land to one that emphasises facilitation and partnership with local communities.

Forest loss and degradation carry a heavy human and environmental cost throughout tropical, temperate and boreal regions. In response, IUCN, WWF and various government and non-government partners have developed the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) approach, which focuses on restoring the goods, services and ecological processes that forests can provide at the broader landscape level. While FLR is globally relevant, some captivating and interesting examples of restoration have come from East Africa. Three examples are highlighted in this booklet.

The project relied on the rich local knowledge of the Sukuma people about their natural resources and ways of managing them. “Ngitili – or “enclosures” or fodder reserves” in the local Sukuma language were traditionally used for conservation and restoration of range-lands and governed under customary law, are now the true driver for the astounding success of the forest restoration in the region.

This briefing provides an update on negotiations under the climate change convention on REDD(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), and their relevance to forest restorations. It has been prepared as part of the REFORLAN project, European Community Sixth Framework Programme contract number 032132. REFORLAN has carried out research on dry forest restoration in Mexico, Chile and Argentina. Hence this briefing has a particular focus on these countries. The REDD concept has now expanded to REDD+, encompassing also “conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks”. This opens an opportunity for carbon-focused forest restoration efforts. It would be wise to monitor national REDD+ strategies as they develop, and offer feedback to encourage the inclusion of forest restoration where this would offer both carbon and biodiversity benefits. Both the major intergovernmental funds supporting REDD+ readiness and pilot activities, the UN-REDD Programme and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), have biodiversity objectives and could be willing to support forest restoration activities. Of the REFORLAN countries, all are FCPF members, and Argentina and Mexico now have ‘observer status’ within UN-REDD. Mexico most frequently uses the language of biodiversity conservation and forest restoration in its submissions to UNFCCC and technical documents.

This case study examines Vietnam’s efforts to use mangroves as an adaptation approach, and illustrates how governance plays a crucial role in the success of such actions. Large-scale mangrove restoration and rehabilitation has been institutionalized as key adaptation interventions in Vietnam, with very different results in the north and south. Vietnam’s experience suggests that adaptation approaches with a single objective – such as protecting coastal infrastructure from sea level rise – can lead to conflicts of interest that hinder implementation, especially when local communities are not involved. Incorporating adaptation within a comprehensive development planning process has had greater success in providing benefits to all stakeholders.