Natural forests are the foundation of biodiversity and a crucial line of defense against climate change. As the most stable and diverse terrestrial ecosystems, they play a critical role in maintaining ecological balance and supporting sustainable development. Over the past two decades, China has made significant strides in protecting its forests. Yet, challenges remain: there is a need for enhanced forest quality, improved management practices, and strengthened ecological resilience.
 
In Wuxi County, located in Chongqing Municipality, 91.4% of the area is covered by mountains and hills. Of its 326,933 hectares of natural forest area, 218,912 hectares are classified as forested land. The degraded natural forest area amounts to 140,309 hectares, with 67% severely or extremely degraded. Reversing this trend has become a pressing ecological and development challenge for the local community.
 
Change began in 2022 with the launch of the “UNDP-GEF Restoration of Degraded Natural Forests and Soil Erosion Management Improvement in Erosion-Prone Regions of China” project in Wuxi County. Drawing on global experiences and best practices in natural forest restoration, the project aims to improve forest quality and landscape resilience through demonstration initiatives. By doing so, it seeks to enhance the local ecological environment, strengthen forest management capacity, and improve livelihoods—supporting the Chinese government’s commitment to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
 
On April 28, 2025, Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China, led a delegation to Wuxi County, where they visited key restoration sites in Maowan Forest of Siyuan Village and Hongchiba Forest Farm, observing firsthand the practical approaches being implemented for green revitalization.
 
“China has made important progress in forest and grassland ecological conservation and restoration,” said Ms. Trankmann. “The strategies adopted in the UNDP-GEF natural forest restoration project in Wuxi County offer valuable lessons and could serve as a replicable model for other areas within China, the region, and beyond.”

A New Landscape: Integrating Multi-level Governance with Ecological Restoration
 
The Wuxi landscape restoration project has pioneered a novel ecological governance model that combines multi-level collaborative management with cutting-edge restoration techniques. The project established a comprehensive multi-stakeholder governance framework, which brought together the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), local governments, 67 forestry enterprises and research institutions, along with a dedicated consultant team. On the ground, the project implemented several interventions, including the conversion of monoculture plantations to mixed forests, forest corridor development, degraded forest restoration, and human-facilitated natural regeneration. These efforts have successfully restored 9,774 hectares of degraded natural forests, with projected direct carbon emission reductions of 9.6 million tCO₂e and indirect mitigation of 4.84 million tCO₂e over the project cycle, supporting only climate change mitigation but also biodiversity conservation.
 
People-Centered Restoration: Green Growth for All
 
This restoration goes beyond environmental conservation- it’s a catalyst for revitalizing communities and improving livelihoods. Guided by the sustainable livelihoods framework and grounded in five core principles - sustainability, participation, equity, market orientation, and free prior informed consent (FPIC) - the project integrates conservation with economic opportunity. Through systematic evaluations and comprehensive field surveys, the project identified five priority intervention areas: developing the understory economy—an economic model that relies on the sustainable use of forest ecosystems, forging public-private partnerships, promoting agritourism and ecotourism, strengthening local associations, and creating jobs to employ local communities through restoration activities.
 
To date, 2,470 individuals, including 910 women, who represent 36.84% of participants, have benefited from the project through capacity-building trainings, household surveys, and employment opportunities. By operationalizing the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) approach, this initiative demonstrates how ecological regeneration can be a pathway to inclusive, sustainable development.

 

Advancing Green Development through Collaborative Innovation
 
Wuxi's ecological restoration achievements demonstrate the transformative potential of integrated governance and partnerships. UNDP is committed to continuing to work with China to pioneer innovative approaches in green finance and multi-stakeholder cooperation. Building on this progress, UNDP stands ready to facilitate the adoption of comprehensive, landscape-level restoration strategies in China and abroad that address climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection, ensuring sustainable development that benefits both people and planet.