Engaging Faith Groups on Land Restoration: A G20 Global Land Initiative Stocktake Report
This stocktake examines the unique role and potential of faith communities in achieving the G20 Global Land Initiative’s ambitious goal of reducing degraded land by 50% by 2040. Through consultation with over 100 faith-led organizations across 24 countries during 2024, the report reveals how religious institutions – controlling approximately 8% of habitable land globally – can transform conventional approaches to land restoration. The stocktake highlights both the distinctive strengths of faith-led restoration approaches, including multi-generational commitment and community mobilization, while identifying critical opportunities to scale faith-led restoration projects. This preliminary draft has been distributed to facilitate discussions at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The report provides concrete recommendations for unlocking the full potential of religious institutions in global land restoration efforts while preserving their unique spiritual and cultural approaches to environmental stewardship.
