APA – Kigali (Rwanda)
The United Nations is set to recognize two collaborative initiatives in Africa among the top global restoration flagships, an official statement seen by APA on Tuesday in Kigali said.
The previous initiative in 2022 recognized joint efforts to protect mountain landscapes in Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Serbia and Uganda as one of the pioneering efforts to revive the natural world among the seven initiatives selected as the 2022 World Restoration Flagships.
According to the statement, this year’s winners include initiatives to restore mangroves, forests, rivers, and degraded dry lands across dozens of countries that are vulnerable to droughts, wildfires and floods in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
The World Restoration Flagship awards are part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. The awards track notable initiatives following global commitments to restore 1 billion hectares – an area larger than China.
Countries have already promised to restore 1 billion hectares – an area larger than China – as part of their commitments to the Paris climate agreement, the Aichi targets for biodiversity, the Land Degradation Neutrality targets and the Bonn Challenge, it said.
However, little is known about the progress or quality of this restoration.
With the World Restoration Flagships, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is honouring the best examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration in any country or region, embodying the 10 Restoration Principles of the UN Decade.
According to the statement, progress of all World Restoration Flagships will be transparently monitored through the Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring, the UN Decade’s platform for keeping track of global restoration efforts.
Led by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, together with the support of partners, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide.
It also aims at reviving billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration.
CU/GIK/APA