Held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 10 to 20 October 2022, the ten Forest and Landscape Restoration Days for the advancement of forest and landscape restoration (FLR) in Asia consisted of eight dialogue and knowledge-sharing sessions attended by experts and partners. To achieve the goals of the Bonn Challenge and the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UN Decade), the Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have endorsed a strategy for FLR in the Asia-Pacific region, which promotes partner collaboration in the implementation of FLR plans. In line with this goal, the FLR Days included discussions on technical, social and institutional approaches to FLR and on how to leverage participation and investments and ensure coordinated action. Global FLR experts joined together with representatives from Bangladesh, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste to engage with the steering committee members and country focal points of the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), which provides Member Countries with technical expertise to support the Sustainable Development Goals.

FAO’s Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) team was a key participant in the FLR Days. First, Senior Forestry Officer Christophe Besacier co-led an opening session on the big picture, presenting ongoing FLR initiatives and the ten principles adopted to guide the UN Decade. He also discussed jurisdictional approaches to the planning, implementation and monitoring of FLR at the decentralized level, with project examples from the Philippines.

On behalf of the Taskforce on Best Practices, FAO Consultant Andrea Romero discussed the framework for dissemination of good restoration practices in the context of the UN Decade, and how this should be used to identify FLR hotspots, while the Taskforce action plans were introduced. FAO FLRM Consultant Valentina Garavaglia then discussed the importance of quantifying the costs and benefits of ecosystem restoration while a dialogue was led on planning considerations and key knowledge gaps of relevance to the UN Decade, before discussing two topics related to financing. The first topic focused on draft donor mapping, resource mobilization strategies and innovative financing, and the second, on FLRM’s financial support to partners.

Proceeding to innovations in practice, Mr Besacier presented The Restoration Initiative (TRI) and the FLRM e-learning courses on an introduction to FLR and on its financing and monitoring. During this session, FAO FLRM Consultant Benjamin De Ridder also facilitated a discussion on the lessons learned from the Restoration Factory incubation programme. The final day of participation for the team comprised three talks on shaping investments. To begin, the session was introduced with a recap of past learning. This was followed by a dialogue on standards of practice for ecosystem restoration (SoPs). Lastly, the FLRM discussed how to design and manage bankable projects.

The FLR Days achieved a variety of outcomes by inspiring support for and awareness of FLR activities and challenges on the ground, and providing valuable information on the identification, planning, monitoring and financing of FLR projects. Experts clarified who were the resource partners for support in Asia and explained the methodology for obtaining FLR funding through proposals. Using the knowledge gained during previous sessions, the experts concluded the event by supporting government officials in the preparation of FLR project proposals – paving the way for a greener future in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Giorgio Millesimi (FAO) and Madison Ziegler (FAO)