Rainforest Restoration in Borneo by IKEA

Welcome to this side event organized by IKEA titled “Sow a Seed – 25 years of IKEA-funded rainforest restoration in Borneo: lessons learned and the future.”

Learn how the IKEA Forest Positive Agenda 2030 – which includes a commitment to enhance biodiversity and restore degraded landscapes – is being realised through what is now one of the world’s largest and longest-term tropical forest ecosystem restoration projects.

Launched in 1998, the Sow a Seed project in Sabah, Borneo has led the protection and restoration of 18,500 hectares of rainforest degraded by logging and fire. An important part of the initiative included research, supported by IKEA funding and led by Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU). In 2023 a postdoctoral work concluded that biodiversity improved in the area.

This event invites various stakeholders including the private sector, policy makers, ecosystem restoration practitioners and researchers to discuss critical knowledge needed to facilitate scaling up landscape restoration, and the potential role of projects such Sow a Seed. Speakers from IKEA, SLU, Sabah Foundation and Preferred by Nature will provide an overview of current research, training courses and verification of ecosystem restoration and discuss practical experience including future steps in ecosystem restoration.