IKEA builds on 18,500-hectare rainforest restoration with 10-year research lab

12 / 07 / 2026

By Marwa Nassar - -

IKEA has launched the Living Rainforest Restoration Lab, a 10-year research initiative that builds on the restoration of 18,500 hectares of degraded rainforest in Borneo. The program will support 24 research projects aimed at advancing rainforest restoration, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation.

Three decades of restoration:

The Living Rainforest Restoration Lab builds on the Sow a Seed initiative, launched in 1998 by IKEA, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and the Sabah Foundation. Over nearly three decades, the partners have restored one of the world’s largest and longest-running tropical rainforest restoration projects by planting 5 million seedlings from around 90 indigenous tree species, helping revive habitats for wildlife including orangutans, pygmy elephants, clouded leopards, and hornbills.

Sharing restoration knowledge:

The new initiative shifts the focus from field restoration to research and knowledge sharing. Led jointly by SLU and Malaysian universities, the program will study how degraded tropical rainforests recover over time and identify restoration methods that can be replicated globally. The findings are expected to support policymakers and restoration practitioners while contributing to biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.