This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Forests and trees are crucial for human wellbeing, sustainable development, and ultimately, life on Earth. The critical ecosystem services that forests provide are widely acknowledged, yet their provision is seriously threatened by continuing deforestation and forest degradation. Restoring Forests and Trees for Sustainable Development utilizes a multidisciplinary perspective to analyze and discuss the various opportunities and challenges of restoring tree and forest cover. It examines forest restoration commitments, policies and programs, their implementation at different scales and contexts, and how forest restoration helps to mitigate environmental, societal, and cultural challenges. This book explores how restoration affects forest ecosystem services, contributes to biodiversity conservation, and generates benefits and synergies, while recognizing the considerable costs, tradeoffs, and variable feasibility of its implementation.

The chapters review forest restoration governance, practices, and technological advances, and reflect on the possibility of sustainable and just approaches to meet the challenges that lie ahead to achieve ambitious international forest restoration targets and commitments.