Rome: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its State of the World’s Forests 2026, highlighting the growing importance of restoring degraded forests and landscapes to address climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and food-security challenges.

The report says forests cover approximately 4.14 billion hectares, equivalent to around 32% of the world’s land area, while storing an estimated 714 gigatonnes of carbon and supporting up to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity.

A key focus of the report is the gap between global restoration commitments and actual implementation. FAO’s latest assessment found that 91 countries and areas have reported quantitative forest-restoration commitments covering more than 190 million hectares. However, only 70 countries and areas reported almost 44 million hectares of forest currently under restoration.

The figures indicate that substantial commitments have been made, but implementation remains behind the level needed to meet international restoration targets.

FAO identifies four major pathways for expanding restoration: strengthening the rights and participation of people and communities, adopting landscape-scale approaches, mobilising finance and suitable business models, and creating effective policies, laws and institutions.

The organisation says restoration should not be viewed simply as planting trees. Successful restoration needs to consider forests together with agriculture, water resources, biodiversity, soils and the communities that depend on these landscapes.

The report also highlights the importance of local and Indigenous communities. Their knowledge, participation and rights can play an important role in determining whether restoration projects produce lasting environmental and economic benefits.

FAO’s data show that approximately 1.56 billion hectares of land are degraded globally, including around 460 million hectares of forest land. In addition, an estimated 489 million hectares of forest have been lost through deforestation since 1990.

Restoration can provide benefits beyond forests themselves. According to FAO, well-designed restoration can improve water regulation, protect soil, support biodiversity, strengthen food systems, improve livelihoods and increase resilience to climate-related risks.

Financing remains one of the major challenges. FAO says limited resources, fragmented institutional responsibilities, weak governance and inadequate enforcement can prevent restoration commitments from being translated into action.

The report also stresses the importance of monitoring. Governments need reliable information showing not only how much land is being restored but also whether restoration is improving ecosystems and delivering benefits for local communities.

FAO’s 2026 assessment draws on data from its Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025, national reporting under international environmental agreements, the Bonn Challenge and other restoration-monitoring systems.

The findings come as countries work toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and international targets related to biodiversity, climate and land degradation.

FAO argues that restoration efforts need stronger long-term investment, clearer institutional responsibilities and better monitoring if countries are to move from commitments to measurable results.

The report ultimately presents forest and landscape restoration as a development issue as well as an environmental priority. Expanding effective restoration could simultaneously support ecosystems, rural economies, food security and climate resilience.