From Promises to Policy: Building the Legal Foundations for Ecosystem Restoration

Restoring degraded ecosystems is no longer just an environmental concern—it’s a social, political, and economic imperative. From failing farms and dried riverbeds to disappearing forests and polluted coastlines, the evidence is clear: healthy ecosystems are the backbone of food security, climate resilience, and human well-being. Yet while restoration is gaining attention in international declarations and donor agendas, one critical tool remains underused: law.

Last week in Ghent, legal and policy experts from across six continents gathered for a writeshop aimed at bridging that gap. Hosted by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), in collaboration with the G20 Global Land Initiative and GIZ, the group came together to co-develop a legal and policy framework for restoration—one that is actionable, adaptable, and anchored in justice. The conversations were rigorous, regionally diverse, and grounded in the hard realities of implementation.

What became quickly apparent is that restoration, in legal terms, is still largely uncharted territory. In many countries, laws on restoration are either weak, fragmented, or missing entirely. Where frameworks do exist, they often suffer from vague language, poor enforcement, and no provisions for long-term accountability. Even worse, restoration efforts are frequently undermined by other laws—governing agriculture, infrastructure, or mining—that prioritize short-term gains over long-term ecological health.

Throughout the three-day writeshop, participants unpacked legal challenges and opportunities from regions as varied as China, Colombia, the EU, and the Pacific Islands. They explored issues ranging from constitutional rights and land tenure to the definitional confusion between "restoration," "rehabilitation," and "remediation." Without clear legal definitions, implementation becomes inconsistent and public trust erodes—opening the door to token gestures and greenwashing.

A visit to Natuurpunt Oostkamp, a community-led restoration site near Brugge, provided real-world context. Volunteers are reviving a mosaic of wetlands and grasslands—driven by deep ecological knowledge and community spirit. But their work, like many such initiatives around the world, exists on fragile ground without supportive legal infrastructure. Good intentions alone can’t guarantee long-term protection.

The draft legal framework emerging from the writeshop is designed to provide exactly that. It includes model clauses, policy design elements, and guiding principles that lawmakers can adapt to their own legal systems—whether civil, common, religious, or customary. Crucially, it emphasizes rights-based approaches, ensuring restoration is not only ecologically sound but also socially just.

But this initiative isn’t just about writing frameworks—it’s about putting them to use. The outputs will be shared at the Global Changemaker Academy for Parliamentarians (GCAP) in August 2025, catalyzing direct engagement with lawmakers and creating space for real legislative reform.

Why does this matter? Because restoration won’t succeed on ambition alone. It needs policy coherence, mandates that outlast election cycles, and financing that flows through public systems. It needs legal clarity that defines roles, ensures accountability, and protects the long-term interests of both people and nature.

Restoration is not a luxury. It is a necessity—especially in a world facing accelerating climate shocks, biodiversity collapse, and land degradation. Laws won’t solve every challenge, but without them, even the best restoration efforts risk faltering under pressure.

The writeshop in Ghent delivered more than a draft—it delivered a blueprint. Now the work lies in translating that into legal action on the ground. This effort is central to the G20 GLI’s mission to reduce global land degradation by 50% by 2040—by turning science and strategy into lasting policy and institutional change.