Restor Advances New Science with $1.9 Million Grant from Google.org to Help Achieve Global Conservation Goals

São Paulo - A new study from the research lab that founded Restor, Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich, underscores that natural, biodiverse forests are key to meeting global climate and biodiversity goals. The study revealed that the recovery of natural, biodiverse forests have the astounding potential to capture approximately 226 Gt of carbon, which equates to approximately 30% of our global carbon drawdown goals. The majority of this potential, 61%, can be realized by community-led initiatives protecting existing, natural forests. The remaining 88 Gt (39%) can be unlocked by community-led initiatives reconnecting fragmented forests and restoring degraded forest areas. 

Despite forest landscapes making up 59.4% of Brazil’s land cover, the country faced a stark reality in 2022, accounting for 43% of global tropical deforestation. This led to the loss of nearly 2 million hectares in the Amazon Rainforest, the largest non-fire-related loss since 2005, posing a severe threat to the region’s rich biodiversity, home to over 50,000 plants, 1,300 birds, 2,700 fish, and numerous insects, putting unique species at risk. 

Meeting Paris Agreement commitments necessitates a substantial investment of R$228 billion from public and private sources, aiming to restore 12 million hectares of natural vegetation by 2030. However, by conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing its forests, Brazil can contribute 11.2% (25.4 Gt carbon) to global forest carbon drawdown as demonstrated in the latest research from Crowther Lab.

Importantly, the study also emphasizes that this forest potential cannot be achieved through monoculture tree plantations. Rather, it requires equitable development, including land-management policies that prioritize the rights and wellbeing of local communities, indigenous people and farmers that promote biodiversity around the world.

Restor’s bottom-up approach offers a viable solution, empowering governments, such as Brazil, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Restor translates the latest science into action, serving community-led initiatives, governments, community-based organizations, and businesses. In a thrilling testament to the platform’s capabilities, Restor has received an additional $1.9 million grant from Google.org to bolster Restor’s ability to monitor and track progress against global biodiversity targets (to be formally announced at COP28).

Local communities

Restor is built to facilitate millions of local, community-led biodiversity initiatives across the globe. Currently, Restor provides visibility and connectivity to 130,000 projects in 140+ countries. It provides scientific data to track progress on carbon, water, and biodiversity, as well as high-resolution satellite imagery, showing change over time.

Businesses

By supporting local initiatives across the globe, Restor also helps businesses and financial institutions to track conservation commitments and demonstrate their impact on nature. For a positive impact on nature, organizations should first look at their own supply chains to end deforestation within. Restor can help with this process by showing deforestation rates across sourcing regions. In addition, they can facilitate equitable development by investing in portfolios of community-led efforts that promote biodiversity, thousands of which can be found on the Restor network.

Governments

Restor is also able to support governments to track and report progress on biodiversity pledges. With data sourced from its network of locally led initiatives, Restor can track climate and biodiversity targets outlined in agreements like the Paris Agreement, the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It provides policymakers with data they need for decision-making, progress tracking, and accelerating efforts.

With a united front among communities, governments, and businesses to end biodiversity loss, these goals are within reach. 

“Indigenous peoples steward 22% of the world’s forests and protect 80% of the Earth’s biodiversity,” said Thomas Crowther, founder of Restor and senior author of the study. “Political and financial systems must promote and empower these stewards of nature, who are saving us all against the threats of biodiversity loss and climate change.”

“With Restor, anyone can explore the implications of this new research for their company, country, or local environment.” said Thomas Elliott, CEO of Restor.

“Our mission is to connect nature’s stewards to a global network of actors who can facilitate the protection and restoration of biodiversity worldwide.” 

“This science reaffirms how a safe future climate for all requires protecting and restoring our forests, alongside sharp reductions in fossil fuel emissions. To work towards an equitable future we must cut our emissions and invest in nature,” said Dr. Susan Cook-Patton, Senior Forest Restoration Scientist at The Nature Conservancy. 

“This new research quantifies the impact that protecting and restoring forests can have not only on climate, but for the incomes of people working with forest systems. Through Restor, we’re bringing visibility to Belterra’s network of smallholder farmers as they connect to nature markets that can help them scale their impact,” said Valmir Ortega, CEO of Belterra Agroforestry (Earthshot Prize Finalist 2023). 

“By supporting community-led initiatives that put nature first, Restor is helping organizations that improve the resilience of our ecosystems, whilst combating climate change and delivering sustainable incomes to nature’s stewards. Many visionary organizations across Brazil are already doing this and it’s vital we continue to create the conditions for them to collectively scale” said Johannes van de Ven, Good Energies Foundation. 

“For the first time, the potential for forest regrowth and recovery on deforested lands and degraded forests has been assessed collectively to reveal an enormous potential for both carbon storage and biodiversity conservation. The combination of ground-based and satellite-derived methods provides a robust assessment that can guide responsible and sustainable restoration efforts using site-appropriate and lower-cost methods including assisted natural regeneration. Restoring forests does not have to replace active agricultural land uses and does not require a large price tag or massive tree planting, but to achieve this potential will require sustained political commitment, effective incentive structures and local engagement of communities. The benefits of forest restoration will be achieved over time and well-planned actions need to start now,” said Dr. Robin Chazdon. 

“The Restoration and Reforestation Observatory is a nationwide monitoring platform that has been building strong governance with collectives working in specific biomes, such as the Amazon, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. In this way, we highlight the importance of local initiatives for restoration in Brazil and build a robust and transparent database based on common criteria. The partnership with Restor is very welcome and gives us global visibility, making previously unimaginable connections possible,” said Tainah Godoy, Executive Director, Observatório da Restauração e Reflorestamento. 

“While forests cannot replace emissions reductions, our results support the idea that the conservation, recovery, and sustainable management of diverse forests offer valuable contributions to achieving global climate and biodiversity goals,” emphasizes Dr. Pedro Brancalion, professor of the University of São Paulo and co-author of the study. “Forest loss in Brazil more than doubled since 2015, from 8,288 km² in that year to 17,726 km² in 2022, a leap of 113.8%. We need a united front to avert the worst consequences of biodiversity loss and climate change, and all the negative social impacts they have caused. The efforts platforms like Restor are making provide critical insights to create truly sustainable impacts and promote the type of partnerships and engagement that we need to move along with the global restoration agenda.” 

Visit Restor and sign up today, and view our trailer and media kit here. Access and download the Crowther Lab report here.