Initiative 20x20
A country-led effort to change the dynamics of land degradation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Latin America and the Caribbean contain some of the most ecologically valuable forest ecosystems in the world, providing 27% of the world’s forests. Despite their importance, 20% of forest lands are badly degraded, and another 20% are completely deforested. The result: over 650 million hectares of landscapes are damaged in the region, threatening the communities and nations that rely on them.
Initiative 20x20 is an effort led by 17 countries seeking to change the dynamics of land degradation in Latin America and the Caribbean by beginning to protect and restore 50 million hectares of forests farms, pasture and other landscapes by 2030. In total, that’s an area of land roughly the size of France.
As the initiative’s Technical Secretariat, the World Resources Institute works to boost investment in restoration through national investor roundtables and the Land Accelerator entrepreneur training program. It provides essential technical support to member countries to help them plan restoration programs, develop public policies through the Restoration Policy Accelerator, and monitor their impact with tools such as the Sustainability Index for Restoration and the Monitoring Accelerators. The team also produces and communicates cutting-edge research on topics ranging from economic analysis to native tree species.
The initiative, formally launched at COP20 in Lima in 2014, supports the Bonn Challenge, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration led by FAO and UNEP, and the New York Declaration on Forests—three global initiatives that are encouraging countries to restore 350 million hectares by 2030.
