Governments across the globe have been urged to raise forests conservation high on the political agenda.
More than 3,000 participants made the appeal from 145 countries during a meeting convened by the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) allies in Bonn, Germany, and online, on April 24-25.
The event brought together forest scientists and allies to shape the next decade of forest action ahead of UN Climate COP30.
Robert Nasi, director of science at CIFOR-ICRAF, said if deforestation ended and 350 million hectares (865 million acres) of tropical forests were restored, 100,000 jobs would be created and ecosystem services worth $170 billion would be generated per year.