Kew declaration on reforestation for biodiversity, carbon capture and livelihoods

Abstract

The Kew Declaration is based on a synthesis and conclusions of discussions held at the ‘Reforestation for Biodiversity, Carbon Capture and Livelihoods’ conference (online, February 2021) and on evidence presented in the published scientific literature. The aim of the Kew Declaration is to protect biodiversity, mitigate carbon emissions and climate change, and improve livelihoods by promoting a framework and policies that ensure protection of intact forests and adoption of effective restoration strategies that further these three goals. The conference on ‘Reforestation for Biodiversity, Carbon Capture and Livelihoods’ was held online on 24–26 February 2021, hosted by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, and attended by over 2400 participants, representing a wide range of reforestation practitioners, policymakers, funders, businesses, NGOs and researchers from 113 countries. During the conference, delegates reviewed and discussed examples of the successes and challenges of large-scale reforestation and considered future approaches that incorporate biodiversity conservation concerns. The declaration below is based on a synthesis and conclusions of these discussions and on evidence presented in the published scientific literature, in particular the review, ‘Ten golden rules for reforestation to optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery and livelihood benefits’ (Di Sacco et al., 2021), https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.15498. Policymakers, financiers and practitioners in countries that have made reforestation pledges relating to Nationally Determined Contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Land Degradation Neutrality targets under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other forest landscape restoration, nature-based solutions and Voluntary Emission Reduction schemes, including the New York Declaration on Forests, the Bonn Challenge, the World Economic Forum's 1t.org initiative, the Great Green Wall for Africa and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: The Declaration Drafting Committee, Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, would like to extend our thanks to the many people who contributed to drafting the declaration and also to Mimi Tanimoto, who collated the responses. In addition, we would like to gratefully acknowledge the sponsors of the Reforestation Conference, Sky Zero and Fondation Franklinia. Data S1. Supporting Information Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.