REIMAGINE * RECREATE * RESTORE

UN launches 'DECADE ON ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION' on WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY. What will you restore?

Thousands of people around the world are raising their voices to join #GenerationRestoration launched on 5th June 2021, World Environment Day 2021, which marks the United Nation's 'Decade on Ecosystem Restoration' - a global movement in which individuals, groups, organisations, businesses and governments are being urged to join forces to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation.

Ecosystems are the web of life on which we depend and the 'Decade on Ecosystem Restoration' launches with a call for "imagination and action on a never-before-seen scale to heal nature and the planet". Healthy ecosystems are not only vital for tackling the climate crisis, saving species from extinction and reversing our catastrophic decline in biodiversity, but also for eliminating poverty and fighting disease and the UN says that "the revival of ecosystems must be met with all the ambition of the space race". Using the hashtag #GenerationRestoration, we are each encouraged to boldly re-imagine, recreate and restore as we 'green our cities, rewild our gardens, change our diets and clean up our rivers and coasts.'

This year's host for the day is Pakistan who are currently involved in a number of restoration initiatives including '10 Billion Tree Tsumani' which, led by Prime Minister, Imran Khan (who planted the 1 billionth tree in May 2021) aims to enhance over 1 million hectares of forest across the country over 5 years, including mangroves and woodlands as well as planting trees in urban settings, such as schools, colleges, public parks and green belts. In advance of the launch day, Pakistan have been holding a series of webinars, on topics such as how they're also tackling air pollution and mountain ecosystem restoration, highlighting the approaches being taken in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

According to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), launched as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 gets underway, the world must deliver on its commitment to restore at least 1 billion degraded hectares of land in the next decade - which is an area about the size of China - as well as adding a similar commitment for oceans. But there are also a host of things we can also do as individuals and by coming together in local organisations. UNEP hopes to encourage people to convey messages "of action and hope", from being involved in small scale projects, such as city parks and river valleys, to threatened larger initiatives that rest in the hands of private investors and governments.

You can journey through a variety of ecosystems online to see why they matter (including forests, reefs, peatlands, deserts, mountains, savannah, seas), choose, one or two and pledge your action Here and you can browse through and participate in, the official online events, scheduled Here and learn about restoration initiatives and projects happening around the world. You can also download the UN's detailed 'Practical Guide to Healing the planet' Here.