Nature Restoration: A Climate Solution with Socioeconomic Payoffs

In 2019 a research team argued that restoring natural forests could be the most effective climate response, delivering carbon removal and improving human wellbeing.

The Guardian

Positive feedback loops enabled life to transform Earth, while human activity creates loops—resource extraction, population growth, warming that intensify climate risk. Restoring natural feedbacks can reverse these trends. Around 4 billion years ago, microbial activity and photosynthetic organisms initiated feedback cycles that oxygenated atmosphere, enabling complex life.

The Guardian

Prof Thomas Crowther, ecologist and founder of Restor.eco, champions restoration. A WWF colleague warned that branding nature as the “best” solution could jeopardize scientific careers. Prof Crowther’s Restor.eco platform maps restoration sites worldwide.

The Guardian

Restored ecosystems could provide about 30 % of the carbon removal needed to limit warming. Pilot sites already sequester hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 each year. Funding under 1 % of global GDP could sustain these projects. In Saseri, northern India, soil and tree work benefits over 1,200 farmers; in Gujarat, Indigenous women protect 12 villages by rebuilding mangroves.

The Guardian

Ecotourism in Argentina’s Iberá wetlands employs rangers, chefs, guides and wildlife trackers. Similar projects boost food security, fisheries and incomes, linking community welfare to ecosystem health.

The Guardian

The team says calling natural restoration the top climate solution reflects a broader definition of “best” that includes social outcomes. WWF cautioned that this framing could trigger backlash if emissions cuts are seen as secondary. Restor.eco promotes site-specific projects that align ecological gains with local livelihoods.

The Guardian

Monoculture tree farms can replace native species, and peatland drainage releases stored carbon. WWF’s career-risk warning highlights the danger of overstating nature’s role at the expense of urgent emission reductions.

The Guardian

In Iberá National Park, jaguar reintroduction reduced herbivore pressure, allowing wetland plants to restore moisture-retaining soils and re-establish a carbon sink. Comparable gains are reported from Saseri’s soil-water management and Gujarat’s mangrove restoration, where biodiversity rebounds and community resilience improves.

The Guardian

The 30 % estimate lacks a universally accepted method, and global cost figures are coarse. Detailed metrics for scaling restoration while preserving ecosystem complexity remain under development.

The Guardian

• “best climate change solution” — Author, Researcher (Science paper)

The Guardian

• “If we can work with nature’s feedback loops rather than distorting them, we can reap the benefits of their self-sustaining momentum.” — Author, Researcher

The Guardian

Scaling nature-based solutions will require coordinated financing, policy incentives and rigorous monitoring. Ongoing research aims to refine carbon accounting and embed restoration in national climate plans, positioning ecosystems as a core element of mitigation. Directing less than 1 % of global GDP toward rural land stewards could sustain these efforts.

The Guardian