The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a rallying cry to heal our planet. And heal it we must, because the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste is devastating ecosystems.
To date, 75 per cent of all terrestrial ecosystems have been altered by human activity. Land degradation, overfishing and deforestation are hurting food security and livelihoods. A recent UNEP and GRID-Arendal report found that climate change and land-use change will drive wildfires up 30 per cent by 2050, laying waste to ecosystems. Plastic pollution – a major focus of UNEA 5.2 – is damaging the blue world.
But the UN Decade is building momentum around commitments to restore one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030, as well as our oceans and coasts. The decade has a network of over 100 organizations, five task forces and an advisory board of 30 members. Thanks to Germany, Denmark and Finland for their financial support to get us started on the #GenerationRestoration journey.
There is a simple reason for this momentum: restoration works.
Every dollar invested in restoration creates up to 30 dollars in economic benefits. Restoration as a climate change adaptation solution is cheaper and brings more co-benefits than technology-based solutions. Investing just four dollars per resident in growing trees in cities could improve the health of millions of people by filtering and cooling air.
We have already seen real restoration successes, big and small.
Costa Rica implemented policies in the 1980s that led to a doubling of forest cover today. In China, restoration of aquatic vegetation in Hong Lake increased species diversity and led to the return of the endangered white stork. Under South Africa’s Working for Water restoration programme, over three million hectares have been cleared of invasive species since 1995, providing jobs and training to around 20,000 people.
Implementation of the UN Decade can bring many more such successes and add up to a global impact through #GenerationRestoration.
The UN Decade’s Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) has started supporting initiatives. But to reach one billion hectares restored and attain the SDGs, we need more action and ambition.
We must link the restoration agenda to action on climate, biodiversity, resource use and economy: through the appropriate intergovernmental scientific bodies.
We must build partnerships that align investment with nature-positive choices – because investments in ecosystem-based approaches need to at least triple by 2030.
We must act in our cities – because bringing the green back into urban areas can deliver benefits on everything from climate to biodiversity.
We must remember that we don’t need to fix everything with human intervention. In many cases, if we leave nature alone, it will recover.
We must remember ocean ecosystems: clear up plastic pollution through a legally binding international agreement, and deal with dead zones, acidification and so much more.
And to avoid making restoration a Sisyphean task, we must deal with the root causes of degradation. This means addressing unsustainable consumption and production. Reforming economic and financial systems. Encouraging individuals to adjust their lifestyles where possible, so they don’t contribute to degradation.
Colleagues, we must strain every sinew during the UN Decade.
Because if we succeed, we slow climate change. We bring back biodiversity. Take the pressure off pristine nature by reducing land conversion. Provide jobs. Restore nature’s buffers against zoonotic diseases. Help vulnerable communities adapt to the changing climate. Create productive land for agriculture – which Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director General of FAO spoke of. All of this with a solution that is relatively low cost and low tech, making it one of the most accessible and inclusive options around.
And we are keen to learn. We are asking governments and their partners to nominate the biggest, best or most inspiring examples of large-scale and long-term restoration. Nominations for these World Restoration Flagships are open until March the 31st. The first ten Flagships of the UN Decade will be celebrated at a global launch.
It is time for us all to be part of #GenerationRestoration, and bring nature back to life in our landscapes, our oceans and our cities.
