SINGAPORE, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Restoration is underway on 252 million hectares (973,000 square miles) of degraded ecosystems across 149 countries, the United Nations' environment agency said on Thursday, way behind a global target of 1 billion hectares by 2030.

As part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework signed in late 2022, countries agreed to restore around 1 billion hectares of degraded territory by 2030, and to ensure at least 30% of the world's ecosystems were under effective protection.

Of the 252 million hectares now being restored, 192.2 million hectares are in Asia, led by China with 127.4 million hectares, according to the UN's Restoration Progress Report, published during a new round of biodiversity negotiations in Yerevan, Armenia.

Terrestrial restoration has reached nearly halfway to the 2030 target, but limited progress has been made on freshwater and marine ecosystems, despite faster rates of degradation.

It added that annual restoration finance needs to rise from $64 billion to $296 billion by 2030, including $87 billion for agroforestry, $52 billion for restorative reforestation and $44 billion for peatland restoration.

It said there was a strong economic case for increasing spending, with more than half the global gross domestic product generated by economic activities that are highly dependent on nature.

Restoring 15% of the world's priority ecosystems could also capture and store 30% of industrial CO2 emissions and avoid 60% of species extinctions, the report said.