The United Nations appreciates the efforts of 10 pioneering initiatives working to restore the natural environment
The United Nations appreciates the efforts of 10 pioneering initiatives working to restore the natural environment
The winning initiatives were revealed at the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal, where the initiatives were declared pioneering ecosystem restoration initiatives and are eligible to receive UN-supported promotion and funding.
These initiatives were selected under the umbrella of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), designed to prevent the degradation of natural spaces across the planet and restore them. The original.
The ten initiatives aim to restore more than “161 million” acres, an area larger than Myanmar, France, or Somalia, in addition to creating approximately “15 million” job opportunities.
By unveiling global restoration initiatives, the “United Nations Decade” seeks to honor the best examples of large-scale, long-term ecosystem restoration, embodying the ten restoration principles of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
The UN Decade recognizes the time needed for restoration efforts to achieve results, and until 2030, regular calls for actions and initiatives to restore the indigenous environment will be launched, with an assessment of which initiatives apply for Multi-Partner Development Fund funding (MPTF) of the United Nations Decade.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said: “Transforming our relationship with nature is the key to reversing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and pollution and waste. “These inaugural 10 Global Restoration Initiatives show that through political will, science and cross-border cooperation, we can achieve the goals of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and shape a more sustainable future for all elements on the planet.”
While Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said: “FAO and UNEP, as co-chairs of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, are pleased to recognize the ten most ambitious and visionary ecosystem restoration initiatives as global ecosystem restoration initiatives in 2022, and inspired by these pioneering companies, we can learn how to restore our ecosystems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.”
Below we briefly discuss the ten initiatives that were considered by the United Nations.
Trilateral Atlantic Forest Charter
The Atlantic Forest once covered an area of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, but it turned into ruin due to logging, agricultural expansion, and the construction of cities.
Hundreds of organizations have been active in decades-long efforts to protect and restore forests in the three countries, and their initiatives work to create wildlife corridors for endangered species, secure water supplies for people and nature, confront and build resilience to climate change, and create thousands of jobs. About 1.6 million acres have already been restored, with the 2030 target being 2.4 million acres, and the 2050 target being 35 million acres.
Abu Dhabi Marine Restoration
Protecting the second largest group of dugongs in the world is considered a leadership goal in the United Arab Emirates, by restoring seagrass beds - the dugong’s favorite food - and coral reefs and mangroves along the Gulf coast.
The project in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi will improve the conditions of many other plants and animals, including four species of turtles and three species of dolphins. Local communities will benefit from the revival of 500 species of fish, in addition to greater opportunities for eco-tourism.
Abu Dhabi wants to ensure that coastal ecosystems have resilience in the face of global warming and rapid coastal development in one of the warmest seas in the world. About 750 square kilometers of coastal areas have already been restored with another 450 square kilometers under restoration until 2017. 2030.
The Great Green Wall of Restoration and Peace
The Great Green Wall is an ambitious initiative to restore savannas, grasslands and farms across Africa to help families and biodiversity adapt to climate change and prevent desertification from threatening already vulnerable communities.
Launched by the African Union in 2007, this pioneering initiative seeks to transform the lives of millions in the Sahel by creating a belt of green and productive landscapes across 11 countries. The 2030 goals of the Great Green Wall are to restore 240 million acres, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million jobs.
While the Great Green Wall targets degraded lands stretching across the continent, the UN Decade focuses specifically on Burkina Faso and Niger.
Rejuvenation of the Ganges
Restoring the health of the Ganges, India's sacred river, is the focus of a major campaign to reduce pollution, rebuild forest cover, and bring a wide range of benefits to the 520 million people living around its vast basin.
Climate change, population growth, industrialization, and irrigation have led to the decline of the Ganges along its 2,525-kilometre-long curved path from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal.
Launched in 2014, the government-led initiative renews, protects and conserves the Ganges and its tributaries, while reforesting parts of the Ganges Basin and promoting sustainable agriculture. It also aims to revive key wildlife species, including river dolphins, soft-bodied turtles, otters and others.
The investment by the Indian government has reached “4.25 billion” dollars so far, and 230 organizations are participating in the initiative, with “1,500 kilometers” of the river restored so far. In addition, 71,000 acres have been afforested so far, with the goal in 2030 being 320,000. acres.
Multi-Country Mountain Initiative
Mountain regions face unique challenges, as climate change melts glaciers, erodes soil, and often pushes species toward extinction. The water supplied by the mountains to farms and cities on the plains below has become unreliable.
The initiative, based in Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Uganda and Rwanda, shows how projects are being used in three diverse regions; To restore and make mountain ecosystems more resilient so they can support their unique wildlife and provide vital benefits to people.
Uganda and Rwanda are home to one of only two remaining groups of endangered mountain gorillas, and thanks to protecting their habitat, gorilla numbers have doubled in the past 30 years. In Kyrgyzstan, pastoralists are managing grasslands more sustainably, providing better food for both cattle and Asian ibex, and snow leopards are slowly beginning to recover. In Serbia, the authorities are expanding tree cover and revitalizing pastures in two protected areas, so brown bears have returned to the forests, where restoration also helps ecosystems recover from forest fires.
SIDS Restoration Campaign
Focusing on three small island developing states – Vanuatu, Saint Lucia and Comoros – this initiative is working to scale up the restoration of unique ecosystems from hills to reefs, and leverage blue-chip economic growth to help island communities recover from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Goals include reducing pressures on coral reefs vulnerable to storm damage, so fish stocks can recover. Ecosystems undergoing restoration also include sea grasses, mangroves and forests.
This initiative aims to amplify the voice of island nations facing rising sea levels and intensifying storms as a result of climate change.
The “Altin Dala” initiative to preserve grasslands
Like many grasslands around the world, the vast steppes of Central Asia are in decline due to factors such as overgrazing, conversion to arable land, and climate change.
In Kazakhstan, the initiative has been working since 2005 to restore ecosystems (semi-desert and desert steppes) within the historical range of the saiga. The saiga is an antelope that was once highly vulnerable to hunting and species loss.
In fact, the number of saigas fell to just 50,000 in 2006 but has rebounded to 1.3 million in 2022. In addition to reviving and protecting the steppe, the initiative has helped preserve wetlands that are a vital stopping point for an estimated 10 million birds. Migratory, and among the main species of these birds are the lapwing, the red-breasted goose, the white-headed duck, and the Siberian crane.
Mesoamerica Dry Corridor
The ecosystems and peoples of the Mesoamerican Dry Corridor are exposed to unpredictable heatwaves and rainfall, and are particularly vulnerable to climate change. In 2019, after a fifth year of drought, “1.2 million” people in the region found themselves in need of food aid.
The initiative covers six countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, and aims to increase green cover through the use of different techniques in agriculture. For example, agroforestry systems that integrate tree cover with crops such as coffee and cocoa can Cardamom aims to enhance soil fertility and water availability while preserving much of the biological diversity of the indigenous tropical forest.
By 2030, the goal is to restore 240,000 acres and create 5,000 permanent jobs.
Building with nature in Indonesia
Demak, a low-lying coastal community on the main island of Java in Indonesia, is suffering from erosion, flooding, land loss due to clearing of mangroves for aquaculture ponds, subsidence of land and infrastructure.
Instead of replanting the mangroves, the initiative built fence-like structures with natural materials along the beach to calm the waves and trap sediment, creating conditions for the mangroves to recover naturally.
In exchange for allowing the mangroves to regenerate, farmers were taught sustainable techniques that increased their shrimp production, and with the provision of mangrove forests that are home to a large number of marine creatures, fishermen also saw an improvement in their catches near Beach.
The Shan Shui Initiative in China
This ambitious initiative brings together 75 large-scale ecosystem restoration projects, from mountains to coastal estuaries, across the world’s most populous countries.
The initiative was launched in 2016 and is the result of a systematic approach to environmental restoration. The projects are compatible with national spatial plans, operate at the level of natural green spaces or watersheds, include agricultural and urban areas, as well as natural ecosystems, and seek to enhance multiple local industries, all of which include biodiversity goals.
Examples of such projects include the Oh Jiang River Project in Jiang Province, which combines scientific knowledge with traditional farming methods, such as slope terraces, intercropping, and fish and duck farming, to make land use more sustainable.
To date, about 8.3 million acres have been restored, with the goal being 24 million acres by 2030.
The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration continues until 2030, which is also the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and scientists say that restoring only 15 percent of ecosystems in priority areas, and improving habitats could reduce extinctions by 60 per cent. One hundred.
The UN Decade addresses the three Rio Conventions and encourages its partners to integrate climate predictions and different climate futures into restoration efforts.
In conclusion, there has never been a more urgent need to revive damaged ecosystems, as ecosystems support all forms of life on Earth, and the healthier the ecosystems are, the healthier the planet and its inhabitants are.
