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There is an increasing urgency to implement large-scale ecosystem restoration to mitigate the biodiversity and climate crises. These efforts must be scaled up to counteract the widespread degradation of the world’s forests, although restoration costs can often limit their application. Thus, there is a pressing need to identify cost-effective approaches that catalyze landscape-scale ecological recovery. Here, we highlight seven assisted restoration innovations with demonstrated local-scale results that, once upscaled, hold promise to rapidly regenerate forests. We comprehensively assessed how each approach facilitated forest, woodland, and/or mangrove recovery across 143 studies. Our results reveal techniques with a marked ability to catalyze vegetation recovery compared to “business-as-usual” approaches. However, the context-dependent cost-benefit ratio and feasibility of applying particular approaches requires careful consideration. Our assessment emphasizes that we already have many of the tools necessary to drive the terrestrial restoration movement forward. It is time to implement and assess their efficacy at scale.

Los Roques Archipelago National Park traditionally accounts for 95% of the total Venezuelan catch of Panulirus argus. Lobsters are caught in traps and by skin divers, during a 6-month fishing season (1 November to 31 April). The current status of the fishery was evaluated through a comparison of the 1998–99 lobster fishing season with previous studies. Thirty trap licences and 41 skin-diving authorizations were granted in 1998–99. Catch per unit effort was estimated as 2.31 kg/trap/month and 155.66 kg/diver/month, values similar to those from the 1983–1985 and 1986–1988 seasons. Total catch for the 1998–99 season was estimated as 139.31 tonnes (67.1% from traps), 47.78% higher than official reports. Estimated total catch, however, decreased by 40% from previous scientific evaluations. This decline has been attributed to a reduction in numbers of both trap licences and active traps. Size distribution of the 665 lobsters examined was not statistically different from that found in previous studies. The similarities in catch per unit effort and size distribution between the fishing seasons 1983–1985, 1986–1988, and the present study reflect a relatively stable fishery. The spiny-lobster fishery remains the main source of income of the fishers in the archipelago.