We are facing so many environmental crises, including climate change, the massive loss of biodiversity, and increasing pollution. Not to mention the world pandemic, that can also be associated with the destructive relationship we have with nature. We are reaching a point of no return, and to prevent further catastrophic impacts, we need to act now. Focusing on ecosystem restoration with the help of nature-based solutions is our best alternative to make our way out of these crises.
As the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres said, “we are ravaging the very ecosystems that underpin our societies, and in doing so, we risk depriving ourselves of the food, water and resources we need to survive”. That is why the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are co-leading a new global movement, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration – also referred to as the Decade.
What is the UN Decade?
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a global effort to recover the ecosystems humankind have degraded, as well as to protect ecosystems that are still intact, ensuring One Health for nature and people.
Adopting restoration practices is our chance to recover different degraded regions, such as agricultural areas, savannah, wetlands, fisheries, coastal areas and so many others. Thereby, improve these regions’ ecosystem services.
The Decade was proclaimed on March 1, 2019, by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). It started in 2021 and will come to an end in 2030 along with the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, the Decade aims to reach already existing targets from the 2030 Agenda, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and other global frameworks.
These frameworks are all interconnected, and to achieve the targets, we need an all-hands-on deck approach. Everyone, including governments, private sector, non-profits, civil society, and academia, needs to come together to find lasting solutions, if we want to overcome the previous mentioned environmental challenges.
Goals and strategies
The main objectives of the Decade are:
- Restore degraded ecosystems and showcase successful initiatives working to halt ecosystem degradation;
- Scale up restoration solutions and create a platform for knowledge exchanging;
- Create a network, where initiatives working in the same region or topic, can come together to exchange experiences and increase their impact;
- Connect investors to ecosystem restoration opportunities; and
- Encourage actors from sectors that are not traditionally involved, to join the movement.
To reach these goals, the Decade sets out 10 strategies that can be implemented by anyone who wish to get involved. The strategies are:
- Empower a global movement
- Finance restoration on the ground
- Set the right incentives
- Celebrate leadership
- Shift behaviors
- Invest in research
- Build up capacity
- Celebrate a culture of restoration
- Build up the next generation
- Listen and learn
If you would like to learn more about each strategy you can read about it at the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration website here.
Beyond environmental benefits
Ecosystem restoration is crucial to halt environmental destruction and recover natural ecosystems, but it also generates social and economic benefits.
This movement is indispensable specially to guarantee a green recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing all countries to thrive. This is possible through the preservation of people’s livelihoods, creation of new (green) jobs, hence building societal resilience, and reducing poverty.
Ecosystem restauration almost always stand on nature-based solutions, which are cost-efficient, long lasting solutions. In addition, these are generally simpler to scale up. However, it is important to bear in mind that there isn’t a single solution nor a global one-size-fits-all definition for restoration. It is necessary to analyze local needs, environmental characteristics, and socio-economic contexts.
When it comes to the economic benefits of ecosystem restoration, the UN affirms that it exceed nine times the costs of investment. While taking no action at all, would cost at least three times more than implementing restoration action.
In addition, restoring 350 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 would represent an increase on rural economies in a total of US$9 trillion in ecosystem services.
What are nature-based solutions?
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) aim to tackle social and environmental problems by working alongside nature. Resulting in benefits for humans, biodiversity, and the overall ecosystem. It includes the restoration, preservation, and management of natural and semi-natural ecosystems.
Sustainable management practices are essential in NbS, especially those which allow nature to regenerate itself. Other important aspects that should always be taken into consideration are biodiversity preservation, as well as the engagement and consent of local communities in each action proposed.
To put a stop in the climate, biodiversity, and land degradation crises, it is necessary to boost NbS. In fact, a research conducted by the UN shows that investments in NbS must triple until 2030 in order to effectively address these crises.
NbS is also crucial for improving food security worldwide. Over one third of the planet’s land surface is already covered by croplands. The scientific community has been putting a lot of effort to help farmers increase yield while using nature to restore degraded land which has suffered from conventional agricultural practices. This is a win-win situation, seeing that farmers improve their productivity and crop resilience, while simultaneously helping soil and biodiversity thrive.
Here are some examples of NbS that can be applied in farmlands:
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2021.
What is the Chloride Free Foundation doing?
Chloride Free’s purpose has a lot of synergy with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, seeing that we work to promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity. We encourage farmers to be mindful about the inputs they use on crops, advocating for the minimizations of chloride in agriculture.
These practices increase soil biodiversity, crop resilience, soil health, carbon sequestration and farmer’s profits. As a result, it also allows nature to regenerate itself and find balance.
With that in mind, the Chloride Free has been selected as an official Actor for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Actors for the UN Decade are organizations who support, advise, facilitate or develop restoration programs or activities on the ground.
If you would like to join us in our efforts, you can sign our petition to make agriculture chloride-free, sign up to be a Chloride Free volunteer, or simply share this article with your friends and family. When sharing it on your social media, make sure to use #GenerationRestoration and tag the Chloride Free (@chloride.free). Every action counts!
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