1) REDD+ has the potential to address multiple crises like poverty, food insecurity, and climate change by strengthening rural societies and building resilience. 2) REDD+ must complement goals like poverty alleviation, food security, and adaptation, not just carbon, as forests are home to many of the world's poor and livelihoods depend on forests. 3) Restoring degraded lands can provide livelihoods while increasing carbon sequestration and adaptation benefits like erosion control and drought resistance. However, conditions like tenure rights and economic development are needed to achieve these complementarities.