Second Nature

ECOSYTEMS FIGHT BACK WITH NEW 'WORLD RESTORATION FLAGSHIPS'

Seven more pioneering initiatives in Africa, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia have been named today (13th February 2024) as UN supported 'World Restoration Flagships' under the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ecosystem Restoration for helping restore the health of our planet.

From protecting biodiversity and stunning wildlife in the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal, to championing a community led restoration of nature to save the Andean forests (home to 1/6th of all life on this planet), the best examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration have been honoured. The goal of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land and oceans globally and these new projects, which have re-established areas impacted negatively by wild-fires, drought, pollution and deforestation, are expected to restore nearly 40 million hectares of degraded habitats and create about 500,000 jobs.

"Healthy nature and thriving biodiversity are essential to ending that triple planetary crisis - the crisis of nature, the crisis of biodiversity loss and yes, the crisis of pollution and waste. And that's why the world's united under the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration to bring back nature to full health," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Aderson as she announced that with 7 years left, another 7 new initiatives have been recognised.

The initiatives are Accion Andina - restoring Andean forests (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru), the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal, Natural mangrove regeneration in Sri Lanka, African farmers transforming food systems (Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya), Regreening Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia), the Living Indus initiative in Pakistan and Restoring Mediterranean Forests (Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey). These winning enterprises which are eligible for UN technical and financial support, were made public ahead of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) to be held from 26th Feb - 1st March 2024 in Nairobi and they join those already announced at the Convention on International Biodiversity announced and at COP 15 in Montreal in Dec 2022.

"Now with a total of 17 flagships running and many other initiatives in full swing there's real hope for the future of the planet, hope for the future of humanity and hope for the teeming biodiversity that makes our home planet earth, the basis of life in the empty vastness of space." Said Inger.

To read in full about all of the World Restoration Flagship initiatives please click HERE.