A major international conference has kicked off groundbreaking initiatives aimed at restoring degraded grasslands and rangelands — ecosystems that support billions of people, critical biodiversity, and global food systems. Representatives from governments, conservation groups, scientists and Indigenous communities gathered as part of the broader global restoration movement under frameworks like the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) and the Bonn Challenge, which seek to reverse land degradation and restore millions of hectares of damaged landscapes.
At forums including events linked with the Global Landscapes Forum and upcoming grasslands-focused summits, delegates highlighted sustainable grazing, regenerative land management, and community-led stewardship as core pillars of the new initiatives. These efforts aim to bolster soil fertility, increase carbon sequestration, and protect biodiversity by restoring grasslands that have been over-cultivated, fragmented, or degraded by climate change and unsustainable practices.
Speakers underscored the role of pastoralists and local land managers as vital custodians of rangelands, promoting holistic approaches that combine policy commitments with on-the-ground restoration action. The conference emphasized that scaling restoration across grasslands is crucial not only for ecosystem resilience and climate mitigation but also for safeguarding the livelihoods of rural and Indigenous communities worldwide. News as reported
