Global Restoration Initiative Policy Analysis - Spring

Team Members: Aiyana Bodi, Maria Chavez, Zachary Chertok, Lee Hager, Jacob Higdon, Raphaelle Ortiz, Mallory Rutigliano, Olivia Taylor, Siddharth Tulsiani, Alison Wolters, Cornelia Wu

Restoring degraded land has become a critical strategy for mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, and sustaining agricultural productivity, yet governments often lack the analytical tools needed to evaluate and align restoration policies effectively. To support global restoration efforts, a comprehensive policy analysis framework was developed to help identify synergies, conflicts, and incentives across restoration-related laws and programs. The framework is built on a database of 89 restoration policies in Brazil, India, and Mexico, designed to enable systematic comparison and reveal patterns in policy design, implementation, and governance. This tool supports strategic planning by identifying how policies interact across sectors and levels of government.

Analysis revealed a steady increase in restoration policies since the mid-20th century, reflecting growing recognition of land degradation as a major environmental challenge. Although restoration goals are broadly shared, countries differ in their motivations and implementation approaches: India emphasizes carbon sequestration, Brazil focuses on agricultural productivity, and Mexico prioritizes biodiversity protection. Despite these differences, financial mechanisms such as national funds and incentives play a central role across all three countries. The framework highlights the importance of policy alignment, institutional coordination, and targeted funding in accelerating restoration outcomes. By providing a structured methodology and searchable policy database, this work strengthens the ability of policymakers and organizations to design more effective restoration strategies and scale land restoration efforts globally.

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