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| Iniciativa 20x20 | |
|---|---|
| Name | Iniciativa 20x20 |
| Type | Landscape restoration initiative |
| Established | 2014 |
| Location | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Area | 20 million hectares target |
| Participants | Multiple countries, NGOs, private sector |
Iniciativa 20x20 is a regional restoration initiative launched in 2014 that aims to restore 20 million hectares of degraded and deforested lands across Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative coordinates national pledges, multilateral funds, non-governmental organizations, and private investors to advance large-scale landscape restoration, biodiversity recovery, carbon sequestration, and rural development. It aligns with international processes such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Paris Agreement while engaging national programs and subnational actors.
The initiative emerged from dialogues at the Global Landscapes Forum, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, and the Convention on Biological Diversity meetings, building on precedents like the Bonn Challenge and the New York Declaration on Forests. Its principal objective is to catalyze restoration across 20 million hectares by 2020, integrating targets for carbon storage under mechanisms related to the Green Climate Fund and the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. Secondary objectives include enhancing habitat connectivity for species listed by the IUCN Red List, supporting livelihood programs akin to initiatives by the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, and contributing to targets in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Participating countries include national governments such as Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, alongside subnational actors like the governments of Antioquia Department, Yucatan Peninsula regional authorities, and municipal administrations. Stakeholders encompass international organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Resources Institute, and the United Nations Environment Programme; non-governmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, IUCN affiliates, and local conservation groups; indigenous and community organizations including federations similar to the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin; and private sector investors ranging from impact funds to corporations active in supply chains represented by entities like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and certification bodies such as Forest Stewardship Council.
Targets emphasize passive and active restoration across ecosystems including Amazon Rainforest fragments, Chaco dry forests, Andean páramo grasslands, Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System catchments, Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) corridors, and degraded Pantanal wetlands. Strategies combine assisted natural regeneration, reforestation with native species, agroforestry modeled after systems promoted by World Agroforestry (ICRAF), sustainable pasture management influenced by practices from Embrapa, and watershed restoration aligning with approaches used in Pago Pago and Saint Lucia catchment programs. Measures include establishing restoration nurseries similar to projects by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, integrating payments for ecosystem services inspired by programs in Costa Rica, and linking to carbon finance mechanisms such as those pursued under Voluntary Carbon Standard frameworks.
Implementation is organized through national restoration plans, public–private partnerships, and multilateral financing instruments. Funding sources combine national budget allocations, concessional loans from institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, grants from philanthropic foundations exemplified by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies, and investments from impact investors operating in the vein of Climate Investment Funds. Carbon markets, green bonds issued by sovereigns or corporates similar to issuances by Republic of Peru or companies like Itaú Unibanco, and payment-for-ecosystem-services programs modeled on Fondo de Desarrollo Ambiental mechanisms also contribute. Technical support is provided by research institutions such as CIFOR, CATIE, INRAE, and universities including Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Universidad de São Paulo.
Monitoring employs remote-sensing platforms like Landsat, Sentinel-2, and analytical tools from Global Forest Watch and MapBiomas, combined with field protocols developed by IUCN and biodiversity monitoring programs linked to GBIF. Reporting aligns with national greenhouse gas inventories under the UNFCCC and biodiversity reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity, with outcomes tracked in centralized dashboards maintained by consortium partners such as the World Resources Institute. Reported outcomes include hectares pledged and hectares under active restoration, carbon uptake estimates comparable to methodologies from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and social indicators measured in studies by institutions like Oxfam and FAO. Case studies highlight restored riparian corridors in regions analogous to Mendoza Province and community-led reforestation in landscapes similar to those in Chiapas.
Critics point to issues common to large-scale restoration initiatives: discrepancies between pledges and implemented hectares seen in analyses by Chatham House and CIFOR, risks of monoculture plantations critiqued by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, tenure conflicts involving indigenous rights raised by organizations like Survival International, and challenges in ensuring long-term financing akin to concerns voiced about REDD+ programs. Technical challenges include selecting appropriate provenance for native species, avoiding invasive species problems noted in reports by IUCN SSC specialist groups, and reconciling landscape restoration with agricultural productivity pressures documented by Food and Agriculture Organization studies. Governance challenges involve coordinating multilevel actors from national ministries similar to Ministry of Environment (Peru) to local community councils and ensuring transparency and equitable benefit-sharing as advocated by UNDRIP-aligned bodies.
Category:Environmental restoration