Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Ushering in nature’s comeback
FOR too long, economic development came at the expense of the environment, says Inger Andersen, executive director of UN Environment Programme (Unep).
Yet today we see global efforts to usher in a comeback for nature such as the seven initiatives named as UN World Restoration Flagships earlier this year by Unep and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) for their best practices for reversing ecosystems degradation.
“These initiatives show how we can make peace with nature, put local communities at the heart of restoration efforts and still create new jobs. As we continue to face a triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, now is the time we must double down and accelerate restoration initiatives,” she says.
These initiatives include ecosystems at the tipping point of outright degradation resulting from wildfires, drought, deforestation, and pollution. They are now eligible for technical and financial UN support.
The World Restoration Flagship awards are part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration – led by Unep and the FAO – which aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.
The awards track notable initiatives that support global commitments to restore one billion hectares – an area larger than China.
Together, the seven new flagships are expected to restore nearly 40 million hectares − an area almost 600 times the size of Nairobi − and create around 500 000 jobs.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu says: “Conserving nature is crucial, but it's not cutting it anymore. We've lost too much of our planet, and it's time to step up and rebuild what we messed up, fix what we broke, and restore what we trashed. These restoration initiatives are like the exciting answers to the big questions our connection to the natural world raises – just like the best movies do."
Here are the seven flagships:
Resilience in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean basin is the world's second largest biodiversity hot spot, but 16% of its forest species are threatened with extinction, in part due to climate-driven longer drought periods, extreme heatwaves and wildfires. In the past decade, the region has experienced the worst fire seasons on record.
The Restoring Mediterranean Forests Initiative involving Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye consists of a novel approach to protecting and restoring these natural habitats and vulnerable ecosystems and has led to around 2 million hectares of forests restored across the region since 2017, with over 8 million hectares planned for restoration by 2030.
Living Indus
The 3 180km long Indus River has served as the vibrant core of the social, cultural, and economic life of what is today called Pakistan for over 5 000 years. Some 90% of Pakistan's people and more than three-quarters of its economy reside in the Indus Basin, and it irrigates over 80% of its arable land. Negligence, environmental degradation, and climate change have threatened the river's ecosystem, including its abundant fish and fertile lands.
The Living Indus initiative was approved by Pakistan's parliament in the wake of the devastating 2022 climate-change induced floods and was officially launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (COP27). It aims to restore 25 million hectares of river basin by 2030, encompassing 30% of Pakistan's surface area through the implementation of 25 high-impact interventions for policymakers, practitioners and civil society. The initiative designates the Indus River as a living entity with rights – a measure taken to protect rivers elsewhere, including in Australia.
Acción Andina
The Acción Andina social movement is inspired by Peruvian conservation non- profit organisation, ECOAN (Asociacion Ecosistemas Andinos) and powered by US-based non-profit Global Forest Generation. It is scaling up a community reforestation model, which has proved itself over the past two decades as a cost-effective solution for climate resilience plans to restore and grow 30 million trees by 2030 across a vegetative band spanning almost 800 000 hectares in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The initiative ultimately aims to protect and restore a forest area of one million hectares by 2045. Some 25 000 people from remote Andean communities are already engaged in restoring 5 000 hectares and protecting 11 000 hectares of Andean forests.
Sri Lankan mangroves
In Sri Lanka, mangrove forests are immensely valuable coastal ecosystems that thrive at the border between land and sea and serve as an important bridge between marine and terrestrial biodiversity. The livelihoods of coastal communities in Sri Lanka are highly dependent on marine and coastal ecosystems. Nevertheless, climate change and human activities are posing threats to this unique ecosystem.
The Sri Lanka Mangrove Regeneration
Initiative is science-driven, co-led by local communities, focused on restoring the natural balance in the ecosystem. Since the initiative was launched in 2015, efforts have already resulted in 500 hectares of restored mangroves, benefiting 150 households. Some 10 000 hectares are slated for restoration by 2030.
Terai Arc Landscape
Over 7 million people depend on the Terai Arc Landscape, stretching across 5.10 million hectares and shared by India and Nepal. It is also one of the world's most critical habitats for tigers whose numbers have sharply declined, along with those of other species such as rhinos and elephants, due to poaching, habitat loss, degradation, and human-wildlife conflict.
The Terai Arc Landscape Initiative has focused on restoring the forests of critical corridors of the Terai Arc Landscape and collaborates with local communities working as citizen scientists, community-based anti-poaching units, forest guards and social mobilizers.
The restoration of 66 800 hectares of Nepal's forests, as well as other measures, has improved the livelihoods of about 500 000 households in Nepal. It also supported the tiger population in the landscape shared by India and Nepal, increased today to 1 174– more than doubling what had been its lowest number when the programme launched in 2001.
Development is expected to continue as almost 350 000 hectares will be restored by 2030.
Regreening Africa’s agriculture
The Regreening Africa initiative has been using proven agroforestry techniques, adapted to suit the needs of farmers under varying socio-ecological contexts in the past two decades, to restore over 350,000 hectares in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Somalia. By 2030, a further five million hectares are planned to be restored.
The initiative is expected to benefit more than 600,000 households. It is also increasing carbon storage, boosting crop and grass yields, makes soil more resilient (preventing floods) and treating it with fixed nitrogen that acts as a natural fertiliser
Forests in Africa’s drylands
The Forest Garden Programme, launched in 2015, includes multiple Forest Garden projects in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, The Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, and Tanzania. Through researched agroforestry techniques, unsustainable farming practices are replaced and nature regenerates, as farmers receive essential training, supplies and equipment for their success.
By planting tens of millions of trees every year, it aims at expanding from 41 000 restored hectares today to 229 000 hectares by 2030, supporting many more through 230 000 jobs created. |