UN Recognizes 10 pioneering Initiatives

By Sarauniya g Usman Abuja

Efforts from Central America to East Asia has been honoured as the World Restoration Flagships
Initiatives and eligible to receive United Nations-backed promotion, advice or funding .

The winning initiatives were unveiled at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal and a special virtual gala event which features Dr. Jane Goodall, Actor Jason Momoa,Chinese celebrity Li Bingbing, Filipe Toledo, Frida Amani, Edward Norton, singer Ellie Goulding, extreme mountaineer Nirmal Purja, UK band Bastille, and more.

Also present at the conference was the UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo and British economist Sir Partha Dasgupta, among others.

The gala was hosted by Indian National Geographic Explorer and wildlife filmmaker Malaika Vaz.

According to a report made available to Newsmen,the United Nations says it has recognized 10 ground-breaking efforts from around the globe for their role in restoring the natural world.

The initiatives were declared World Restoration Flagships and are eligible to receive UN-backed promotion, advice or funding.

They were selected under the banner of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). It is designed to prevent and reverse the degradation of natural spaces across the planet.

The 10 flagships aim is to restore more than 68 million hectares − an area bigger than Myanmar, France or Somalia − and create nearly 15 million jobs.

In revealing the World Restoration Flagships, the UN Decade seeks to honour the best examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration, embodying the 10 Restoration Principles of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

The UN Decade acknowledges the time needed for restoration efforts to deliver results. Until 2030, regular calls for World Restoration Flagships will be launched. In expectation of increased funding to the UN Decade’s Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), additional submissions are being considered, including restoration drives from Pakistan, Peru, and an initiative focusing on Somalia and other drought-affected countries.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen says, “Transforming our relationship with nature is the key to reversing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.

These 10 inaugural World Restoration Flagships show that with political will, science, and collaboration across borders, we can achieve the goals of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and forge a more sustainable future not only for the planet but also for those of us who call it home.”

Director General of the FAO,Qu Dongyu said: “FAO, together with UNEP, as co-lead of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, is pleased to award the 10 most ambitious, visionary and promising ecosystem restoration initiatives as 2022 World Restoration Flagships. Inspired by these flagships, we can learn to restore our ecosystems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.”