Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 26 August 2026 – The UN today recognized Brazil’s Araticum Initiative , Restoring Brazil's Cerrado Savannah, as a World Restoration Flagship, highlighting a major effort to restore the Cerrado, one of the world’s most biodiverse tropical savannas and a biome under intense pressure from land conversion, fragmentation, and climate change. 

Announced during a high-level event at the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), the Araticum Initiative Restoring Brazil's Cerrado Savannah was recognized alongside two other restoration flagships in Saudi Arabia and the Sahel. It makes Brazil the only country so far to have two World Restoration Flagships awarded. 

Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the awards recognize some of the world’s most ambitious and impactful ecosystem restoration efforts. 

“The impacts of climate change, drought and desertification, as well as ongoing geopolitical tensions, are hitting global food systems hard,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Investing in healthy land is one of our strongest defenses against these threats. The three initiatives recognized today show that restoring ecosystems brings significant benefits for all – from food security, new jobs, and greater resilience for millions of people.” 

At more than 2 million square kilometers, the Cerrado has lost over half of its native vegetation, largely due to large-scale land conversion. This is undermining the rights of Indigenous People, , biodiversity, food production, water availability, and climate resilience. 

"The recognition of the Cerrado as a World Restoration Flagship demonstrates that Brazil is rebuilding an environmental policy that combines biodiversity conservation, climate action and development,” said João Paulo Ribeiro Capobianco, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. “Restoring native vegetation is a strategic priority for the country, as it protects our water resources, strengthens the resilience of territories, creates opportunities for local communities, and contributes to the fulfilment of Brazil's international commitments. This recognition enhances the visibility of Brazil's restoration agenda and strengthens our ability to establish new partnerships and attract investments to accelerate its implementation.” 

The initiative brings together more than 180 organizations, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, farmers, researchers, and government institutions to support restoration projects across nine Brazilian states. This is done through natural regeneration, direct seeding, restoration, and agroforestry with native species. 

The initiative has already mapped more than 27,000 hectares under restoration, with additional areas being added through its monitoring platform. Seeds from more than 150 native plant species have been collected and used in restoration activities, helping build a restoration supply chain that includes seed collectors, nurseries, restoration technicians and monitoring services. 

“Restoring the Cerrado means caring for our climate, our water, and our future,” said Fabrícia Santarém, Coordinator of Araticum, Articulation for the Restoration of the Cerrado, and Geraizeira seed collector. “The selection of our biome as a UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration World Restoration Flagship reaffirms the need to invest in the restoration of forests, savannas, and grasslands, as well as in the autonomy and strengthening of the community organizations that are on the front lines of conservation.” 

By 2030, the initiative aims to restore 2 million hectares of degraded land, contributing to Brazil’s national commitment to restore 12 million hectares. 

It does so by combining ecological restoration with social and economic tools, including payment for environmental services schemes, sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, spatial planning, and policy engagement. 

The Araticum Initiative Restoring Brazil's Cerrado Savannah is one of 30 restoration initiatives recognized by the UN since 2022, with a combined area of nearly 20 million hectares already under restoration and of an area of almost 75 million hectares committed to restore by 2030, while creating over 800,000 jobs and improving overall species population. 

“The selection of Araticum as one of the World Restoration Flagships raises the international profile of work that is already recognized nationally. For WWF-Brazil, which helped build and has supported this initiative since its creation in 2020, it is an opportunity to show that large-scale restoration can be driven by communities, local organizations, and different sectors of society, helping to accelerate socioeconomic development,” says Taruhim Quadros, Restoration Lead at WWF-Brazil.  

“Brazil needs to seize this recognition to accelerate investment, strengthen existing networks, and turn restoration into a long-term policy, positioning the country as a global leader in the restoration of savannas and other ecosystems and demonstrating, in practice, how global environmental commitments can be implemented at scale,” adds Taruhim. 

The initiative also reinforces the importance of integrating different environmental agendas at the international level, particularly in a year marked by the UN Conferences of the Parties (COPs) on Desertification, Biodiversity, and Climate.  

“The announcement at UNCCD COP17 helps build a bridge between the major environmental agendas that will be at the center of international discussions in 2026. Land restoration is not an isolated agenda: it simultaneously contributes to restoring biodiversity, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening territories in the face of degradation and drought. Bringing Araticum’s experience to this international debate is a way of showing that these agendas can – and should – move forward together,” concludes Tatiana Oliveira, International Strategy Lead at WWF-Brazil. 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

About the UN World Restoration Flagships 

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 Aichi targets for biodiversity, 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. 

About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 

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. 

About the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 

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 193 Members, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. 

For more information, please contact: 
News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme
Newsroom, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 

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