The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Decade on Ecosystem Restoration runs from 2021 to 2030. Similar to other nature related international decades, its purpose is to promote the United Nations’ environmental goals. Specifically, to facilitate global cooperation for the restoration of degraded and destroyed

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. Along with fostering efforts to combat

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, safeguard

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

, and

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

. While much focus is on promoting restoration activity by national governments, the UN also wishes to promote such efforts from other actors, ranging from the private sector and NGOs to regular individuals. Following on from the 2011 - 2020

United Nations Decade on Biodiversity United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, the decade on Ecosystem Restoration was launched in June 2021. The United Nations called for countries to follow through on existing pledges to restore a total area similar to the size of China by 2030. They also say the overarching goal of the decade is to catalyse a nature friendly movement that lasts beyond the 10 year timeframe.

Launch

The United Nations decade on Ecosystem Restoration began on World Environment Day, 5 June 2021. In a June 2021 report to help launch the decade, the UN called for nations to deliver on existing ecosystem restoration commitments, which in total add up to over 1 billion

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

, an area bigger than China. About half the world's GDP is directly dependent on nature, yet mankind is depleting natural resources at about 1.6x the rate at which nature can restore them. Already about 40% of the world's population suffers due to ecosystem depletion, with close to 20% of countries at risk of

ecosystem collapse An ecosystem, short for ecological system, is defined as a collection of interacting organisms within a biophysical environment. Ecosystems are never static, and are continually subject to both stabilizing and destabilizing processes. Stabilizing ...

. The report advised that restoration efforts to address this could contribute about a third of the

climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...

needed by 2030, as well as protect nature and biodiversity, with significant benefits to humans in terms of physical health, mental health and economically. The UN also call for additional efforts beyond the existing pledges, including for action to restore

aquatic ecosystem An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environ ...

s, and for a lasting global movement to endure after 2030. The UN also stated that while efforts from national governments are vital, everyone has a role to play, including the private sector, NGOs and individuals.

Ecosystem restoration

The UN define ecosystem restoration as "the process of halting and reversing degradation, resulting in improved ecosystem services and recovered biodiversity". In practice, a particular restoration can involve quite different transitions, depending on what best suits the local conditions. * An existing degraded natural ecosystem (e.g. a forest) might be restored to a healthy natural ecosystem, e.g. by removing pollutants or restoring key megafauna, such as

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

. * A degraded modified ecosystem (e.g. farmland) might be restored to a more functional modified ecosystems, perhaps by restoring

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

rows which can help improve

soil quality Soil quality refers to the condition of soil based on its capacity to perform ecosystem services that meet the needs of human and non-human life.Tóth, G., Stolbovoy, V. and Montanarella, 2007. Soil Quality and Sustainability Evaluation - An integ ...

. * A degraded modified ecosystem could also undergo a more fundamental transformation, restoring it all the way to a fully natural ecosystem, though the UN caution this should only be done if it does not negatively impact local people who might depend on said modified ecosystem. The UN advise that different approaches to ecosystem restoration are needed - what works well in one area might fail in another. Approaches they recommend include

regenerative agriculture Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration ...

ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

and

rewilding Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also d ...

Key bodies and partners

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is co-led by two UN agencies - the UNEP and the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

(FAO). Other key bodies involved are the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN), and the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF). In supporting the UN Decade, they will partner with other UN agencies, bodies and convention secretariats, and with international and indigenous organisations.

Pre launch

Proclamation

During the Bonn Challenge 3.0 high-level meeting in March 2018,

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

announced plans to propose a United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, aimed at boosting existing efforts to restore degraded ecosystems. El Salvador's leadership on ecosystem restoration arose out of its support for the Bonn Challenge, which aims to restore 350 million hectares of degraded ecosystems globally by 2030, and endorsement of the New York Declaration on Forests. As one of the six Bonn Challenge pilot countries, El Salvador has pledged to restore 1 million hectares, equivalent to half of the country's territory. 71 countries supported the proposal at its presentation by El Salvador's Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Lina Pohl, to the 73rd session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in September 2018. On 1 March 2019, the UN General Assembly officially adopted the resolution declaring 2021–2030 the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. According to Minister Pohl, "Ecosystem restoration promoted through this UN Decade takes a multi-functional landscape approach, looking at the mosaic of interdependent land uses in which ecological, economic, social, and development-based priorities can find convergence, balance, and complementarity."

Rationale

Pre launch material suggested the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration would focus on balancing ecological, social and developmental priorities in landscapes where different forms of land use interact, with the aim of fostering long term resilience. An

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

includes all living

organisms An organism is any living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have been pr ...

, and their interaction with each other and their physical environment (such as

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, and

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

). Each organism plays a key role and contributes to the health and productivity of the ecosystem as a whole. Ecosystems are interdependent, and damage or imbalance can have devastating and far-reaching consequences. Biodiversity underlies all

ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from Ecosystem, ecosystems. The interconnected Biotic_material, living and Abiotic, non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean ...

, which are the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems, indispensable to health, survival and wellbeing. They include provisioning services (food, freshwater, wood and fibre, and fuel), regulating services (modulating climate, disease, food supply, and water purity), and cultural services (serving aesthetic, spiritual, and educational needs). Human activities are affecting the capacity of ecosystems to provide these goods and services. Drivers of

biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in Biodiversity, b ...

and decline in ecosystem functioning include

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

and

land degradation Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of Human impact on the environment, human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. Human activitie ...

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

decline,

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

, stratospheric

ozone depletion Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a lowered total amount of ozone in Earth, Earth's upper atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone layer) around Earth's polar ...

, and

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

. Degradation of land and marine ecosystems adds to the threat of mass species extinction, and has a negative impact on the well-being of some 3.2 billion people, costing around 10% of the annual global

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(c. $6.3 trillion) in loss of

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

and ecosystem services. Agricultural land and ecosystem degradation reduces resilience to climate change, which enhances the risk of catastrophic collapse in the face of rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns. The benefits future generations can obtain from ecosystems will be greatly diminished unless these problems are addressed.

Ecosystem restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

seeks to repair damage done by people to ecosystems and biodiversity. It assists the recovery of degraded, damaged and destroyed ecosystems, to regain ecological functionality and provide goods and services of value to humans. The beneficial effects of ecosystem restoration include increased food and

water security The aim of water security is to maximize the benefits of water for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include too much water (flood), too little water (d ...

, contributing to

and adaptation, and managing the associated risks of conflict and migration. The restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by 2030 could generate US$9 trillion in ecosystem services and remove 13 to 26 gigatons of

greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

from the atmosphere. The benefits obtained from ecosystem generation on average exceed the costs of the initial investment tenfold, whereas the cost of inaction is at least three times the cost of ecosystem restoration.

Opportunity and aims

Around 2 billion hectares of degraded lands worldwide have potential for ecosystem restoration. Most of the rehabilitation work could take the form of "mosaic restoration", in which forests are combined with

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

, agriculture, waterbodies, and human settlements on a landscape-wide scale. Transformational ecosystem restoration requires strong commitment, and the efforts of countries, the international community, civil society, the private sector, and other actors. Achieving the Bonn Challenge objective of restoring at least 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2030 could realize up to $9 trillion in net benefits, and alleviate poverty in many rural communities. The UN Decade aims to promote a concerted and holistic landscape-focused approach to the interdependence of ecosystems, human needs, and biodiversity, to accelerate the progress needed to maintain and restore ecosystems. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration was established in order to: *Build a common vision, prioritizing ecosystem restoration from the global to the local level to accelerate reversal of ecosystem degradation *Mainstream ecosystem restoration in

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

and planning to address current developmental challenges due to land degradation, biodiversity loss, and

climate change vulnerability Climate change vulnerability is a concept that describes how strongly people or ecosystems are likely to be affected by climate change. Its formal definition is the " propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected" by climate change. It can ...

*Foster a holistic approach to achieving international commitments and national priorities through ecosystem and landscape restoration *Enhance cooperation and resource mobilization to increase the flow of financial resources, technologies, knowledge, and capacity building to countries and jurisdictions working to meet national goals and international commitments, including the

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

, through ecosystem restoration *Encourage partnerships and investments, promoting a resilient economy by increasing support for smallholders' generation of value from land use products and potential to contribute to ecosystem restoration *Promote cooperation between funds providers, governments, civil society, and the private sector to help overcome barriers to scaling up resource-efficient productive systems in association with ecosystem restoration *Raise awareness of the importance of functional ecosystems for human well-being and productive activities, local development and the economic sustainability of society

Links to other initiatives

Ecosystem restoration is recognized as a key component in achieving targets under existing international conventions and agreements. These include the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and, under it, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

and

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

, the

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through ...

and its target of Land Degradation Neutrality, the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

, and the United Nations Strategic Plan on Forests 2017 – 2030. Ecosystem restoration will contribute to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular to SDG15 (Life on Land), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 ( Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Paragraph 27 of the Ministerial Declaration of the High-Level Political Forum on the SDGs held in July 2018 sets out commitments made to achieve sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and

reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

globally by 2020. Planned activities during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration are also designed to contribute to the Bonn Challenge to restore degraded and deforested land. The UN Decade builds on regional restoration efforts, such as Initiative 20x20 in Latin America, which aims to restore 20 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; and the AFR100 African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, that aims to bring 100 million hectares of degraded land under restoration by 2030.

Ecosystem restoration resolutions

Resolutions relevant to ecosystem restoration adopted during past UN Environment Assemblies (UNEA) of the

United Nations Environment Program The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

(UNEP) include: * UNEP/EA.1/L.08 Ecosystem-based adaptation * UNEP/EA.2/L.24 Combating desertification, land degradation and drought and promoting sustainable pastoralism and rangelands * UNEP/EA.3/L.10 Addressing water pollution to protect and restore water-related ecosystems The following resolutions adopted during the fourth UNEA, from 11 to 15 March 2019, highlight the importance of ecosystem restoration: * UNEP/EA.4/L.11 Innovations on biodiversity and land degradation * UNEP/EA.4/L.19 Conservation and Sustainable Management of

Peatlands A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

* UNEP/EA.4/L.14 Sustainable

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. ...

management * UNEP/EA.4/L.13 Sustainable Management for Global Health of

Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

UN Decade on Ecosystem RestorationRestoring Forests and Landscapes: The Key to a Sustainable FutureAssessment Report on Land Degradation and RestorationGlobal Environment Outlook
United Nations observances