Data from: Overcoming the mismatch between restoration planning and implementation: The critical role of smallholders in Chile

Global restoration targets often rely on restoration prioritization maps
that highlight areas with high ecological potential, yet real-world
implementation frequently diverges due to land tenure, governance, and
local socio-economic conditions. Following a large-scale forest fire in
2017 that burned over 500,000 hectares, Chile’s Ministry of Environment
designated 270,677 hectares as priority zones for landscape restoration in
the Maule Region of central Chile. Using this context as a case study, we
show how smallholders play a decisive role in shaping where and how
restoration actually occurs on-the-ground. A comparison with official
records and field data from 1,922 hectares of forest restoration
implemented between 2017 and 2024 reveals a clear disconnect: only 12.7%
of this restored area overlapped with the 270,677 hectares designated by
the government as priority zones. Instead, 87% of the total restored area
occurred on lands owned by private smallholders, even though they
collectively own only about one-fifth of the total land within these
priority zones. To bridge the gap between model-driven prioritization and
real-world conditions, we propose three practical steps: (i) integrate
land tenure and governance into spatial planning, (ii) redesign incentives
to support smallholders, and (iii) adopt adaptive, co-produced frameworks.
Refining outreach and incentives for corporate and state landholders is
also key to broader engagement. Chile’s experience highlights that
smallholders are not refining top-down restoration priorities, they are
revealing where restoration is actually feasible. They restore in places
where tenure, logistics, and livelihoods align, exposing the existing
limitations of widely used prioritization models and clarifying where
restoration can realistically occur. Recognising the role of smallholders
in driving and sustaining restoration efforts can strengthen the
legitimacy, feasibility, and long-term success of large-scale restoration
efforts. Empowering landowners is essential to closing the gap between
ambitious global targets and effective local action.