Canada signs onto global forest restoration challenge at COP15

Written By Peter Allan

Canada became the 62nd country to join the Bonn Challenge, pledging to restore 19 million hectares of land by 2030. Photo by Patte David/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

By Natasha Bulowski

Canada promises to restore 19 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030 as international negotiations to save the world’s rapidly dwindling biodiversity carry on in Montreal.

The Dec. 12 announcement makes Canada the 62nd country to sign onto the Bonn Challenge, an initiative launched in 2011 by Germany and the International Union for Conservation of Nature that aims to restore 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030 to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

With the inclusion of Canada’s commitment, almost 230 million hectares have been pledged for restoration across the globe as part of the Bonn Challenge, according to the federal government.

The pledge comes just days before international ministers are set to descend on Montreal and hammer out an agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 — something scientists say is necessary to avoid critical tipping points.

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Peter Allan
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