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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

March 2019: The UN declared 2021-2030 as the decade on ecosystem restoration that could lead to the restoration of 350 million hectare of land, ocean, and marine ecosystems and generate USD 9 trillion in ecosystem services.

Information

The UN declared 2021-2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This declaration includes land and marine ecosystem degradation that is negatively affecting the well-being of 3.2 billion people. It is estimated that ecosystem degradation annually costs 10% of the global gross product in loss of species and ecosystem services. The declaration aims to reverse the degradation of ecosystems such as lakes, oceans, and landscapes to regain ecological functionality to meet the needs of society. It coincides with the UN’s publication of the Frontiers 2018/2019 report that identifies synthetic biology, the critical advantages of landscape connectivity, the complex interactions and vulnerabilities of permafrost peatlands, the challenges of widespread nitrogen pollution, and the hazards of maladaptation to climate change as main emerging environmental challenges.

Implications & Opportunities

An extensive promotion of land restoration will build up resilience and increase the ability of ecosystems to adapt to extreme events. Under the UN programme, the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 could generate USD 9 trillion in ecosystems services as well as capture 13-26 gigatons of greenhouse gases. Further, the programme aims to address emerging environmental challenges and offers opportunities for job creation, food security and could ensure a continuous supply of fresh water, protection against extreme weather events as well as provide habitats for key species such as fish and pollinators. Simultaneously, the Frontiers 2018/2019 report underlines the need to address underlying ethical concerns of synthetic biology and outlines challenges of building infrastructure systems such as dams and streets in vulnerable ecosystems in developing countries.

Limitations

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration as well as the UN’s Frontiers 2018/2019 report provide guidelines and future scenarios on a meta-level and do not provide concrete measures for ecosystem restoration actions. In light of this, the implementation of the programme and the curtailing of emerging environmental concerns depends directly on government and business engagement.


Sources

UN Environment. (2019). New UN decade on ecosystem restoration offers unparalleled opportunity for job creation, food security, and addressing climate change. Retrieved from https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/new-un-decade-ecosystem-restoration-offers-unparalleled-opportunity

Der Spiegel. (2019). UNO warnt vor fünf unterschätzten Umweltgefahren. Retrieved from http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/uno-warnt-vor-fuenf-unterschaetzten-umweltproblemen-a-1256235.html

UN Environment. (2019). Frontiers 2018/2019: Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern. Nairobi: UNEP.

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