Key Findings

  • Green economic recovery packages can be designed to help the forest and agricultural sectors, providing multiple benefits for the climate, food security, and livelihoods. The forest and agriculture sectors can provide countries with opportunities to make stimulus packages greener by making investments in nature-based solutions, including restoration, tropical forest conservation, and sustainable agriculture, or by reinforcing environmental regulation.
  • Countries can increase natural capital spending or develop payment for ecosystem service schemes to shift money toward protecting and restoring the forest and agriculture sector. Investments in rural landscapes and communities that manage them can lead to both near-term prosperity and long-term economic security.
  • Technological advancements have dramatically improved remote monitoring capabilities, allowing governments to better understand where and why forest loss occurs and where restoration is happening. Additionally, new data can help countries quantify the carbon benefits that result from implementing nature-based solutions.
  • The forest and agriculture sectors provide key social benefits to rural and indigenous communities, such as securing food and reducing climate-related disaster risks. Programs and policies that expand or secure indigenous land rights support vulnerable populations and have been shown to slow forest loss.