Action beyond words - RESTAURacción

Among the most biodiverse regions on Earth, Latin America is home to over 40% of the world’s species and nearly 25% of the world’s forests. When devastating wildfires rapidly developed and spread throughout the region in 2019 and 2020, the Government of Canada launched RESTAURacción. Working with and leveraging the expertise of the International Model Forest Network (IMFN) and local communities, they helped develop plans to restore the degraded post-wildfire landscapes. As part of the larger G7 response to these historic fires, RESTAURacción set out to:

• advance women’s leadership in post-fire and degraded landscape ecosystem restoration

• plan and cost post-fire restoration efforts

• promote longer-term investments in sustainable land use

Putting forest restoration into action

From 2020 to 2024, RESTAURacción delivered more than Can$7.7 million in funding, facilitating critical actions such as:

• creating forest restoration plans

• establishing monitoring systems (including the creation of 261 long-term monitoring plots)

• installing 23 weather and/or monitoring stations

• developing technical resources, such as reports and protocols, to help guide future restoration activities

With the help of 10 partners in Latin American Model Forests in 7 countries, over 3,000 hectares have been placed under forest landscape restoration. This laid the groundwork for effective, data-driven restoration strategies focused on equity, sustainability and inclusion.

Planting seeds of change

At its heart, RESTAURacción was not only a climate action project. It was also one of inclusion and empowerment, aiming to promote, advance and incorporate women’s leadership. It supported technical training in post-fire ecosystem restoration and landscape-level governance decision-making. The program applied Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. It ensured that the needs, interests and experiences of women, men and youth in forest and land restoration were encapsulated at each level of the initiative.

The project was specifically focused on empowering and integrating women and girls into landscape governance processes. Simultaneously, inclusivity and gender equity were central goals woven throughout the initiative. This created space for the voices of traditionally marginalized groups to be heard in decision-making processes.

These groups include:

• children and youth

• local Indigenous and ethnic communities

• LGBTQ+ individuals

• the elderly

• immigrants

• persons with disabilities

The project provided training to over 7,000 people on:

• forest fire management and prevention

• gender equity and inclusion

• leadership and governance

• forest landscape restoration implementation

• agroforestry

Women and girls made up 50.8% of participants. In addition, 86 future restoration leaders were provided with a scholarship, bursary or award to pursue research related to forest landscape restoration in degraded areas. 69% of these recipients were women and girls.

Seeing results take root

RESTAURacción’s success stems from its strong governance platforms – the Model Forests – which foster close collaboration with committed local stakeholders eager to restore their landscapes. By sharing knowledge and leveraging IMFN’s expertise alongside specific knowledge of its local partners, recovery efforts were tailored to the distinct needs of each delicate ecosystem. This approach ultimately leads to a more robust, resilient and healthy restored forest. As a result, the program outcomes are easily adaptable to all model forests that make up the Latin American Model Forest Network. They can also be scaled up throughout the 60+ model forests in 30+ countries that make up the broader International Model Forest Network.

RESTAURacción’s success is evident not only in its environmental impact but also in its contribution to a more sustainable and equitable future for local communities. RESTAURacción is empowering women leaders, supporting local capacity building, and promoting collaboration among diverse partners and stakeholders. This helps communities recover from the impacts of wildfire while planting the seeds for a more resilient and inclusive tomorrow.