The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced seven new flagship restoration projects ahead of the 6th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), which will be held from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The projects – regarded by UNEP as role models for reversing ecosystem degradation at scale – are slated to restore a combined 40 million hectares of land in Africa, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia, the UN agency said in a statement.

“For too long, economic development came at the expense of the environment. Yet, today we see global efforts to usher in a comeback for nature,” said Inger Andersen, executive director at UNEP.

“These initiatives show how we can make peace with nature, put local communities at the heart of restoration efforts, and create new jobs. As we continue to face a triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, now is the time we must double down and accelerate restoration initiatives.”

The newly-announced World Restoration Flagships focus on restoring mangroves, forests, river basins, and degraded drylands with the support of national governments, UN agencies, and not-for-profit organisations, many of which will gather at the upcoming UNEA-6 to discuss new commitments to tackle the biodiversity and climate crisis.

LOCAL COMMUNITIES ENGAGEMENT

One of the flagship projects announced by UNEP, the Restoring Mediterranean Forests initiative, aims to protect and regenerate forest species in the Mediterranean basin, increasingly threatened by droughts, heat waves, and wildfires.

Supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the governments of Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey, it intends to restore 8 mln ha by 2030.

As well, the Accion Andina initiative seeks to protect and restore 1 mln ha of Andean forests, engaging with and securing land titles for local communities in a bid to prevent land exploitation and degradation.

“Accion Andina will plant millions of native trees along the Andes, to secure water, landscapes and protect the ecosystems, biodiversity, and culture,” said Indigenous Peruvian leader Constantino Aucca Chutas, president of Asociacion Ecosistemas Andinos, among the partners of the initiatives. “Local and native communities demand it, and the planet deserves it.”

Local communities are also at the core of the Sri Lanka Mangrove Regeneration initiative, supported by the UK, US, and Australian governments. The project is expected to regenerate 10,000 ha of mangrove forests, improving the livelihoods of the coastal communities hinging on marine ecosystems.

In Nepal, where the Terai Arc Landscape initiative plans to restore up to 350,000 ha of forests, local communities are employed as citizen scientists, community based anti-poaching units, forest guards, and social mobilisers.

“The Terai Arc Landscape serves not only as a biodiversity hotspot,” said Birendra Prasad Mahato, Nepal’s minister of forests and environment. “It also serves as a true testament to the effectiveness of the landscape approach to conservation.”

HARNESSING AGROFORESTRY TECHNIQUES

Smallholders engagement is key to two flagship projects harnessing agroforestry techniques to assist farmers in transitioning towards more sustainable practices.

The Regreening Africa initiative – already up and running in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Somalia – aims to restore 5 mln ha of land, while also improving carbon storage and boosting crop and grass yields.

As well, the Forest Garden programme, launched in 2015, intends to tackle soil degradation and biodiversity loss in 229,000 hectares of drylands by 2030 by planting tens of millions of trees.

As much as 25 mln ha of river basin are planned for restoration by the same year in Pakistan, with the national government and FAO joining forces to regenerate the Indu River basin, ravaged by the floods in 2022. The Living Indus initiative, approved by Pakistan’s parliament, was launched at COP27 UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

“The World Restoration Flagships are chosen as the best examples of ongoing, large-scale, and long-term ecosystem restoration,” the UNEP statement said.

After the inaugural 10 projects were selected in 2022, this year’s initiatives “are part of an accelerated investment in nature by governments and private donors, notably reflected in the $1.4 billion provided last year by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council”, UNEP concluded.

The GEF governing body approved last week an additional $916-million spending package on efforts to tackle biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution.

By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com

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