Green Seattle Partnership Honored by United Nations as a World Restoration Flagship
Updated: Nov 5
We are excited to share that the Green Seattle Partnership was recognized last week by the United Nations as a World Restoration Flagship! This international award honors what we know to be true about our efforts together—that lasting and effective ecosystem care is better built with many hands. GSP has thrived for 21 years by believing that repair is possible in our city and that collaborative, community-centered restoration is a way towards innovation and a greener future. Congratulations are in order to each of you who has lent a hand and heart to this effort.
The World Restoration Flagships are awarded under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). They recognize ambitious and promising examples of restoration that contribute to global commitments to restore one billion hectares of degraded ecosystems by 2030. We highly recommend taking a tour through the 35 initiatives that have been recognized since the inception of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Until this year, urban programs had never been honored before. We are very proud to be the first of three urban forestry programs to be recognized alongside Forestami in Milan, Italy and Mallorquín Wetland in Barranquilla, Columbia. Cities offer important opportunities to impact the quality of life for over 45% of the global population who lives in urban areas, according to a 2025 UN report.
From 2023 – 2025, Seattle participated in the UN’s Generation Restoration program with a cohort of 19 cities learning together about best practices to advance restoration in urban areas. Check out the new case studies featuring each Generation Restoration city. We are reminded through this network that our local work has global implications.
“Seattle is known as the Emerald City because of the abundant nature all around us. Yet we know that sustaining urban ecosystems is a huge challenge, which is why we started the Green Seattle Partnership twenty years ago,” said Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson. “Through partnership, community stewardship of Seattle’s forested parklands has blossomed. We are honored to share the successful effort and our continued learning with cities around the world as part of the World Restoration Flagship program.”
The award was announced on Restoration Day during the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia. Alongside negotiations to protect the world’s biodiversity, the UN released the Restoration Progress Report: Nature’s Comeback, a first-ever accounting of the progress made towards the restoration commitments initially identified as part of the UN’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Now, your work with Green Seattle Partnership is being recognized towards this impressive and critical goal.
We are excited to share the trailer of an upcoming documentary produced by UNEP about Green Seattle Partnership. You’ll see friends from Partner in Employment, Seattle Parks and Recreation, United Indians of All Tribes, Beavers Northwest, and our Forest Steward team at the East Duwamish Greenbelt Trenton site.
Thank you all so much for your hard work and dedication to Green Seattle Partnership's mission. Whether you're a first-time volunteer, or a decades long partner, together we are building one of the strongest community-based restoration movements in the world.
