IUCN launches new publication on ensuring social outcomes in forest landscape restoration

Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is widely recognised as a key tool for addressing biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation. However, restoration efforts are often designed and evaluated with a primary focus on ecological metrics such as tree cover or carbon sequestration, while social dimensions of restoration are less systematically accounted for. As a result, projects can miss opportunities to improve livelihoods, enhance equity or empower local custodians of the land. 

The new IUCN brief outlines why social outcomes matter in restoration and provides practical insights for practitioners, policymakers, donors and private sector actors engaged in landscape restoration around the world. It emphasises that restoration interventions must be rooted in the socioeconomic realities of people living in and near landscapes targeted for restoration, recognising diverse values, knowledge systems and rights. 

Key messages from the brief include:

• Putting people at the centre of restoration planning: Successful restoration must go hand-in-hand with safeguarding human wellbeing, respecting land and resource rights, and enhancing livelihoods. Communities that feel ownership over restoration initiatives are more likely to support and sustain them over time. 
• Inclusive governance and meaningful participation: Decisions about restoration goals and actions should involve a wide range of stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples, local communities and women’s groups, at every stage—from design through implementation and monitoring. 
• Measuring social as well as ecological outcomes: To assess the full impact of restoration, practitioners are encouraged to adopt indicators that reflect changes in employment, income, food security, cultural values and other human-centred outcomes in addition to traditional ecological measures. 
• Addressing equity and justice: Restoration efforts can unintentionally reinforce existing inequalities if they do not explicitly consider distributional, procedural and recognitional justice. Ensuring fair distribution of benefits and risks, and respecting local identities and knowledge, are central to equitable outcomes. 

By advancing a more integrated approach that balances ecological recovery with social impact, the brief aims to help the restoration community - from project developers to investors- design and implement interventions that contribute to thriving ecosystems and prosperous, resilient societies. 

“How to Ensure Social Outcomes in Restoration” is part of IUCN’s broader commitment to promoting effective, inclusive and equitable restoration practices that align with global restoration targets under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) and the Bonn Challenge. 

The brief was funded and supported by Alcoa Foundation and developed by IUCN in partnership with the University of São Paulo and the University of Iceland.