On 15 October 2025, ahead of World Food Day, and as part of FAO's 80th Anniversary celebration, high-level UN officials, royalty, Ministers, restoration experts and thought leaders came together to celebrate four new UN World Restoration Flagships. The initiatives are reviving over one million hectares of land for healthy food systems. 
The UN World Restoration Flagships honor the planet's most ambitious, successful and inspiring large-scale restoration efforts. With the high-level event in Rome, these four awardees have now joined the prestigious list: Bamboo-based Restoration, Revitalizing Korea's Forests from Fire, Collaborative Rangeland Restoration in Jordan and The Restoration Initiative (a global drive operating in nine countries and three continents). Read up on all current winners here.  

Collaborative Rangelands Restoration in Jordan

Tel al-Rumman, north of Amman, is an open mountainous forest area that had been severely degraded due to illegal overgrazing. When Jordan set out to establish its first botanic garden, instead of unclaimed forest land, ecologists met 4,500 sheep and the communities tending to them.

What could have led to conflict resulted in partnership instead. The Royal Botanic Gardens is now working together with traditional herders on reviving sustainable practices, and 180 hectares are being restored to showcase all of Jordan’s unique plants and ecosystems. 

Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Ali, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Mr. Mohammad Shahbaz, Director General of the Royal Botanic Garden, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan received the award from Mr. Lifeng Li, Director Land and Water Division, FAO. 

The Restoration Initiative

This initiative brings together nine countries: Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Pakistan, Sao Tome and Principe, and Tanzania. Supported since 2018 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), FAO, UNEP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), this initiative aims to overcome barriers to large-scale restoration, sharing know-how on improving awareness, monitoring, supporting businesses, and drawing investments.

The initiative has already brought over 310 000 hectares under restoration and 717 000 under improved management practices, and it plans to restore over 160 000 additional hectares by 2030. To date, over 420 000 people have directly benefited from the programme, while mitigating over 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – about the same level of emissions from eight coal-fired power plants in one year. 

Hon. Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary, Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kenya, Mr. Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, Advisor to Prime Minister of Pakistan and Mr. Chetan Kumar, Head of Forests and Grasslands team, International Union for Conservation of Nature received the award from Mr. Lifeng Li, Director Land and Water Division, FAO. 

Bamboo-based Restoration 

Across nine countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, bamboo is being harnessed as a fast-growing, sustainable plant for land restoration, reversing the impacts of intense agriculture, logging, demand for fuelwood and charcoal and climate change. 

Bamboo-based restoration supports poverty reduction, creating livelihoods, carbon storage, land degradation and biodiversity loss, including iconic bamboo lemurs, gorillas and the giant panda. The initiative, led by the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR), has already restored about 200 000 hectares and benefited a similar number of people from improved livelihoods and incomes. 

Ms. Lan Li, Director, External Relations and Partnership, International Bamboo and Rattan Organization and His Excellency Manuel José Antonio Cacho-Sousa Velázquez, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Peru to FAO received the award from Ms. Natalia Alekseeva, Coordinator of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration at UNEP. 

Revitalizing Korea’s Forests from Fire 

The Uljin forest fire will be remembered as one of the Republic of Korea’s worst ecological disasters, burning through over 20 000 hectares in about ten days. 
This World Restoration Flagship in Uljin-gun is restoring the country’s valuable forests while prioritizing community livelihoods and post-fire resilience. This includes reviving native plant species such as the endangered spike rosebay and the habitat of the long-tailed goral, a small goat-like mammal. The entire fire-damaged area is expected to be restored by 2030.

The Republic of Korea took a unique approach to post-fire restoration, focused on bringing back biodiversity over economically viable tree species, and involving communities along the way. 

Mr. Hankyeom Cho, Deputy Director of the Forest Ecological Restoration Division, Korea Forest Service received the award from Ms. Natalia Alekseeva, Coordinator of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration at UNEP. 

For all photos from the event,  visit the online photo gallery. 

Don’t miss the RESTORE documentary series and take a deep-dive into all 2025 UN World Restoration Flagships.