Is it a sign of the times that last year the Nobel committee chose to award the Nobel Peace prize to Wangari Maathai for having planted 30 million trees? We believe so.We think that while in the 20th century conservation made signi?cant progress on setting up a global protected area network, the 21st century will be a time of forest restoration.The fact that Wangari Maathai is the ?rst African woman to receive such an honourable distinction is in itself a major accomplishment.What is even more remarkable is that,for the ?rst time, this highly esteemed prize, which has long been associated with political feats, was given for an environmental achievement. And not just any environmental achievement, but forest resto- tion. It is a comfort to see that it is not just us at WWF, the global conservation organisation, who believe forest restoration to be of global signi?cance, but that the Nobel committee is in agreement.
