4 June 2021.
Introduction:
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food & Agriculture Organisation of UN (FAO) launched ‘UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’ report for 2021-2030 and called on nations to meet commitments of restoring 1 billion hectares of land.Highlights:
According to the report, world is facing triple threat of climate change, loss of nature and pollution. Hence it is imperative for the world commit to restore at least one billion degraded hectares of land (equal to size of China) in next decade.
All the countries also need to meet similar commitments for oceans.
Humanity is using 1.6 times the number of services that nature can provide sustainably.
Thus, conservation efforts alone are insufficient to prevent ecosystem collapse and biodiversity loss on larger scale.
Communities living across two billion of degraded hectares and include world’s poorest and marginalized people.
Global terrestrial restoration costs
- Report estimates Global terrestrial restoration costs, excluding the cost of restoring marine ecosystems, to be USD 200 billion per year by 2030. Every 1 USD invested in restoration can create up to USD 30 in economic benefits.
Ecosystems like
- Forests
- Farmlands
- Forests
- grasslands,
- savannahs,
- urban areas,
- mountains,
- peatlands,
- freshwaters,
- and oceans require urgent restoration.
About UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
- UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 has called for protection and revival of ecosystems across the world.
- It aims to stop degradation of ecosystems and restore them to achieve global goals.