The UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration
Promising shifts in how environmental goals are being set
Last week, the United Nations published a report entitled “Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate”. The report highlights the accelerating rate of the destruction of many types of habitat. Not only are we continuing to destroy forests and grasslands, but we are doing so at an ever increasing rate. That state of the environment is getting rather dire: 10% of forests have been lost since 1990, 20% of croplands are stressed, 37% of wetlands have been lost since 1970, and 2/3 of ocean ecosystems have been damaged. There are real worries that we’re reaching tipping points for maintaining life as we as know it. Although it is well recognized by most people that our very lives depend on a robust and vibrant biosphere, we as consumers have not changed our behaviors enough to reduce the damage of harvesting and manufacturing. And the organizations that should be acting in our best interests, our governments, are also failing to stem this destruction.
While many countries have signed up to various wildlife and conservation treaties in the last two decades, we have not managed to meet even one UN target to prevent the destruction of nature in the past two decades. For instance, none of the 20 targets of 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets have been fully met. The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are part of the Convention on Biodiversity which has been signed by 196 countries. The UN report summarizes thusly:
“Despite the economic imperatives, over-exploitation of natural resources is embedded in our economies and governance systems. Breaking this habit requires recognizing the environmental externalities – the unaccounted-for consequences for nature and future generations – of our current approaches to planning economic development. Fundamental to this will be addressing perverse subsidies and other economic incentives that drive ecosystem degradation. Currently, worldwide activities that degrade ecosystems are subsidized at an estimated USD 4–6 trillion per year.”
While that all sounds pretty dire and monumental, there have been conservation successes in the past decade. Hugely important is that public awareness is growing, seemingly day by day. For instance we’ve all become aware of the massive impact of our food. And our consciousness is shifting, from thinking a robust wilderness would be nice, to recognizing that it is essential to our very survival. And physical goals are being reached too, even if not at the rate needed. For instance, of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets, 6 have been partially achieved, and of the 60 sub-elements of the Targets, 7 have been achieved and 38 show progress. For instance, one of the targets is for all parties to have developed and implemented a national biodiversity strategy and 85% of the parties have done so. Funding for biodiversity has doubled in the past 10 years, protected areas have increased, and knowledge is being shared more. The UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (DEC) aims to lever these achievements in ground breaking ways.
There have been 30 UN Decades on various topics since they began in 1960. All UN Decades aim to both bring attention to important matters and to ensure serious action is taken at international levels. One of the stated aims of the DEC (Decade for Ecosystem Restoration) is to ensure that existing commitments are met to restore 1 billion hectares of land. That’s a huge amount of land equivalent to 21% of global farmland and thus 10.5% of all habitable land on the planet. In addition, other DEC goals aim to increase protection for coastal and marine areas, to increase financial aid, to build on indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ knowledge and to engage youth organizations in leadership roles.
One of the ways in which the DEC is different from previous UN decades is instead of aiming for less destructive behavior, this decade aims to see increases in positive behaviors. So, instead of aiming for less deforestation, less carbon emissions and less pollution, here the goals are improving soils, building up forests, and rewilding pastures. And not to the exclusion of humanity in many cases, much of the work will be done to restore soils for agriculture so yields can increase and less fertilizers and pesticides will be needed. This is such a positive reframing of the issues. Rather than saying what can’t be done, the report on Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate articulates and maps out just what we can do to make the world a better place for all people and species.
The second refreshing aspect of the DEC is that the interconnectedness between a healthy biosphere and humanity’s well being is explicitly addressed, rather than alluded to as a fuzzy justification. Bringing humanity, nature, and climate together has been a growing trend in sustainable development work but is fully at the heart of the DEC’s approach. Indeed, the timing of this Decade seems to have been chosen for just such a purpose. The DEC will run from 2021 to 2030, overlapping with the target of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 as well as the time frame set out by scientists as essential for preventing catastrophic climate change. The DEC goals feed substantially into both these efforts. In terms of climate, the DEC aims to ensure the sequestration of 13 to 28 giga-tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. Together with protecting existing wild areas, this sequestration represents about 1/3 of the climate mitigation we need in the coming decade to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. Restoring ecosystems also cleans our water, reduces conflicts by reducing pressure on resources, reduces the impact of unusual weather events like droughts and hurricanes, and improves our mental and physical health. Indeed, the DEC supports every one of the Sustainable Development Goals, including no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth.
Economically, the UN report points out the rationality of restoring ecosystems. Restoring mangroves alone could add 60 trillion young, edible and commercially valuable fish and invertebrates every year. Restoration through agroforestry could increase food security for 1.3 billion people. Every dollar spent on restoration is expected to yield 30 dollars in economic benefits. Restoring 1 billion hectares, a stated aim of the DEC, will net the world economy 9 trillion US dollars in ecosystem services whereas if we do noting to halt the decline of wilderness, it is expected to cost us 10 trillion US dollars in global GDP by 2050.
And finally, unlike any UN report I’ve read before, this one encourages everyone to get involved whether it be in our own backyard, in a city park or national forest. The DEC is a call to governments, industry, local organizations and youth groups to do what they can to restore nature. Indeed the front page of the DEC starts with the question “The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a global rallying cry to heal our planet. What will you restore?”
On the governmental scale the DEC calls for natural capital accounting, enabling private sector investment and increasing funding for restoration while dropping ecologically harmful subsidies. But the other side is the message is asking people to contribute, pointing out one of the greatest things we can do is to strive for zero food waste and to shift towards a more plant based diet. Once again, this newsletter has come back to the message about paying attention to the impacts of our food. But perhaps at least now you know it isn’t just the local hippy at the farmer’s market singing vegetable praises.
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Even with the positive spin, our earth problems do seem so overwhelming. It is still hard to imagine how the actions of one person can make a difference.
I totally get that. It is overwhelming, and huge, and depressing. But it only through the combined actions of each one of us that we are in this mess. And the evidence is that when only a small portion 1-3% of the population becomes active in a behavioural change that the wave breaks and policy, manufacturing and so forth shift dramatically. And finally, I don't want my droplet to be a polluted one, I want to be able to look at my life and feel like I did a good job taking care of life as best I could. Maybe I should write about this for this week's newsletter. :^)