Nice, France, 11 June 2025 – The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have named the first World Restoration Flagships for this year, tackling pollution, unsustainable exploitation and invasive species in three continents. These initiatives are restoring almost five million hectares of marine ecosystems – an area about the size of Costa Rica, which co-hosts with France the UN Ocean Conference.
The three new flagships comprise restoration initiatives in more than sixty of Mexico’s islands, the coral-rich Northern Mozambique Channel, and the Mar Menor in Spain, Europe’s first ecosystem with a legal personhood. Winning initiatives were announced at an event during the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, and are now eligible for UN support.
“After decades of taking the ocean for granted, we are witnessing a great shift towards restoration. But the challenge ahead of us is significant and we need everyone to play their part,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “These World Restoration Flagships show how biodiversity protection, climate action, and economic development are deeply interconnected. To deliver our restoration goals, our ambition must be as big as the ocean we must protect.”
The World Restoration Flagship awards are part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration – led by UNEP and FAO – which aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. The awards track notable initiatives that support global commitments to restore one billion hectares – an area larger than China – by 2030.
Mexico’s seabird islands
Recognized worldwide as vital hotspots for biodiversity, particularly for being home to one third of the world’s seabird species, the Mexican islands had long suffered the negative impacts of invasive species.
26 years ago, Mexico’s National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the civil society organisation Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI) launched an ambitious, comprehensive ecological restoration program, in collaboration with partners from government agencies, civil society, academia, and local communities.
Efforts include removing 60 populations of invasive species and restoring seabird colonies, as well as forest landscape restoration. Coupled with implementing biosecurity protocols, the comprehensive programme restores the island’s endemic richness and supports local island communities.
“Across Mexico's precious islands, tangible restoration actions and results are breathing new life into vital ecosystems, directly bolstering rich insular and marine biodiversity of global relevance, saving species, and weaving firm threads into the livelihoods of local communities,” said Dr. Marina Robles García, Undersecretary of Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). “Building on this type of success, Mexico is forging ahead with a robust National Environmental Restoration Program, casting its islands as a shining flagship for the revitalization of our myriad ecosystems.”
Thanks to restoration efforts, 85 per cent of formerly extirpated seabird colonies have returned to the islands, including species at risk of extinction. The initiative will complete the restoration of over 100,000 hectares by the end of the decade – equivalent to almost a million hectares of continental land in terms of biodiversity value — encompassing almost 100 islands, and protecting over 300 endemic species of mammals, birds, reptiles and birds.
An enduring relationship with local communities ensures their involvement in the initiative and their benefits: enhanced resilience facing extreme weather events, sustainable fisheries, and ecotourism.
World Restoration Flagships are chosen as the best examples of ongoing, large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration by a group of ecosystem restoration experts from the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’s network. Selection follows a thorough review process with 15 criteria, embodying the 10 Restoration Principles of the UN Decade.
In 2022, the inaugural ten World Restoration Flagships were recognized as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, followed with the recognition of seven initiatives in 2024.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The UN General Assembly has declared 2021–2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It aims at reviving billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration.
Countries have already promised to restore 1 billion hectares – an area larger than China – as part of their commitments to the Paris climate agreement, the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Land Degradation Neutrality targets and the Bonn Challenge. However, little is known about the progress or quality of this restoration. With the World Restoration Flagships, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is honouring the best examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration in any country or region, embodying the 10 Restoration Principles of the UN Decade. Progress of all World Restoration Flagships will be transparently monitored through the Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring, the UN Decade’s platform for keeping track of global restoration efforts.
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It aims to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active healthy lives. With over 194 Members, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
For more information, please contact:
News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme: [email protected]
Newsroom, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)