FAO State of the World's Forests 2026: Degradation Outpacing Recovery, Only ~23% of Restoration Pledges Being Implemented

FAO's flagship SOFO 2026 report, released September 28, finds about 1.56 billion hectares of land worldwide are degraded, including more than 460 million hectares of forest. 91 countries have pledged 190+ million hectares for restoration and 206.5 million hectares are currently under restoration, but only about 23% of reported forest restoration commitments are being implemented, and roughly 470 million hectares must be restored to meet 2030 targets. FAO estimates restoration can return up to USD 30 per USD 1 invested under favourable conditions, but annual finance must rise from about USD 64 billion to USD 296 billion by 2030.