The US Department of Interior has announced a $157-million spending package on ecosystem restoration projects in a bid to support nationwide efforts to drive funding towards degraded lands and waters and advance climate resilience.
The allocation from US President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda will support 206 landscape-scale restoration projects spanning 48 states, with more than half of the initiatives expected to benefit underserved communities across the country, the Department of Interior said.
“Nature is our best ally in the fight against climate change, and now, through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we have new transformational resources to advance locally led, partnership-driven projects that will catalyse nature-based solutions and build resilient communities and landscapes,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
“At a time when tackling the climate and biodiversity crises could not be more critical, these investments in clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, cultural resources, and open spaces will benefit people, wildlife, and local economies for generations to come.”
The projects include restoring strategic areas in the Western sagebrush steppe, safeguarding Hawaiian birds, cleaning and revegetating abandoned mine lands, and restoring salt marshes and core sage brush areas.
Over $25 mln will support the National Early Detection and Rapid Response Framework aimed at tackling invasive species, regarded as one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss and estimated to have cost North America as much as $26 billion annually since 2010, the US Department of Agriculture reported.
More than $18 mln will go towards advancing co-stewardship and salmon restoration in Alaska through engaging with Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
As well, $14 mln will fund the conservation and restoration of Central grasslands. This initiative includes projects for the recovery of bison populations as well as the protection of birds, bees, and butterflies, declining dramatically due to habitat loss.
THE RESTORATION AND RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK
“Projects will be conducted in partnerships with states, tribes, US territories, and non-profit organisations, and will advance wildfire and drought resilience, improve recreational access, reduce pollution, and restore native plants and ecosystems,” the US Department of Interior said in a statement.
The newly-announced pledge is set to bolster the Biden administration’s efforts on nature conservation and restoration programmes, at the core of the Restoration and Resilience Framework announced in Apr. 2023.
Under the framework, the US Department of Interior seeks to achieve three main goals:
- Addressing climate change impacts including wildfire, drought, and coastal flooding
- Restoring lands and waters including rivers, wetlands, grasslands, and islands
- Boosting local communities’ quality of life by improving outdoor spaces and addressing legacy pollution
“Through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Interior Department is stewarding an overall $2 billion over five years in new investments to put people to work restoring our nation’s lands and waters,” the agency concluded.
While the US has yet to ratify the treaty that established the UN Convention on Biodiversity Diversity (CBD), the Biden administration has committed to conserving 30% of national land and coastal seas by 2030 in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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