Religious communities have a rich opportunity to contribute to a global goal of restoring forest ecosystems as part of the current UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. On June 5, 2021, the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, which partners with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and UNEP’s Faith for Earth Initiative, published an issue primer for religious leaders and faith communities on forest restoration.

This primer shows how religious groups could support and participate in forest restoration projects and details what such projects can accomplish. It discusses the considerations religiously-informed groups could keep in mind as they contribute to forest restoration activities, which could be organized on church, mosque, or temple lands. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global but decentralized effort, extends from 2021-2030 and aims to reverse degradation of forests and other land and sea ecosystems through projects large and small, many of them led by local groups.

Click here for FOREST RESTORATION HEALING TROPICAL FORESTS FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL PDF