Latest news with #UNDecadeonEcosystemRestoration
Scoop
3 days ago
- General
- Scoop
UN Recognizes World Restoration Flagships In East Africa, Mexico, And Spain
Nice, France, 11 June 2025 – The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have named the first World Restoration Flagships for this year, tackling pollution, unsustainable exploitation, and invasive species in three continents. These initiatives are restoring almost five million hectares of marine ecosystems – an area about the size of Costa Rica, which, together with France, is hosting the 3rd UN Ocean Conference. The three new flagships comprise restoration initiatives in the coral-rich Northern Mozambique Channel Region, more than 60 of Mexico's islands and the Mar Menor in Spain, Europe's first ecosystem with legal personhood. The winning initiatives were announced at an event during the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, and are now eligible for UN support. 'After decades of taking the ocean for granted, we are witnessing a great shift towards restoration. But the challenge ahead of us is significant and we need everyone to play their part,' said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. 'These World Restoration Flagships show how biodiversity protection, climate action, and economic development are deeply interconnected. To deliver our restoration goals, our ambition must be as big as the ocean we must protect.' The World Restoration Flagship awards are part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration – led by UNEP and FAO – which aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. The awards track notable initiatives that support global commitments to restore one billion hectares – an area larger than China – by 2030. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said: 'The climate crisis, unsustainable exploitation practices and nature resources shrinking are affecting our blue ecosystems, harming marine life and threatening the livelihoods of dependent communities. These new World Restoration Flagships show that halting and reversing degradation is not only possible, but also beneficial to planet and people." The Northern Mozambique Channel This small region boasts 35 per cent of the coral reefs found in the entire Indian Ocean and is considered its seedbed and nursery. Agricultural run-off, overfishing, and climate change threaten this economically and ecologically important stretch of ocean. Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania are already working together to manage, protect, and restore almost 87,200 hectares of interconnected land- and seascapes, benefitting both nature and people. Actions undertaken today to maintain it include restoration of blue and green forests by creating interconnected restoration corridors, mangroves, and coral reef ecosystems, and improving fisheries management. These efforts, championed by the NGO World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and UN agencies alike, encompass multiple levels and sites, spanning both land and seascapes. With adequate financing, 4.85 million hectares are expected to be restored by 2030. This is expected to improve communities' well-being and socio-economic development, including a 30 per cent increase in household income in target areas, and create over 2,000 jobs and 12 community-based enterprises, while integrating indigenous practices. Madagascar's mangroves already store more than 300 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (COe), comparable to the annual electricity use in over 62 million homes in the United States. The restoration is expected to increase these countries' capacity to absorb carbon dioxide (CO) and help tackle climate change. Mexico's seabird islands Recognized worldwide as vital hotspots for biodiversity, particularly for being home to one-third of the world's seabird species, the Mexican islands had long suffered the negative impacts of invasive species. Then, twenty-six years ago, Mexico's National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the civil society organisation Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI) launched an ambitious, comprehensive ecological restoration program, in collaboration with partners from government agencies, civil society, academia, and local communities. Efforts include removing 60 populations of invasive species and restoring seabird colonies, as well as forest landscape restoration. Coupled with implementing biosecurity protocols, the comprehensive programme restores the island's endemic richness and supports local island communities. Thanks to restoration efforts, 85 per cent of formerly extirpated seabird colonies have returned to the islands, including species at risk of extinction. The initiative will complete the restoration of over 100,000 hectares by the end of the decade – equivalent to almost a million hectares of continental land in terms of biodiversity value — encompassing almost 100 islands, and protecting over 300 endemic species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and birds. An enduring relationship with local communities ensures their involvement in the initiative and their benefits: enhanced resilience facing extreme weather events, sustainable fisheries, and ecotourism. Spain: The Mar Menor lagoon With its famously transparent water, the Mar Menor lagoon is essential to the region's identity, local tourism, small-scale fishing and unique flora and fauna, including water birds. Surrounded by one of Europe's key agricultural regions, it is the continent's largest saltwater lagoon, and its biodiversity has successfully adapted to conditions of extreme temperatures, high salinity, and low levels of nutrients. However, nitrate discharges from intensive agricultural activity, as well as other polluting land and marine activities, have led to the lagoon's rapid degradation, including the emergence of damaging algal blooms. A positive turn came when over half a million citizens mobilized in response to episodes of 'green soup' and fish kills and supported a Popular Legislative Initiative to make the Mar Menor a legal entity with rights. Actions were also promoted from the justice system to demand the application of environmental liability regulations and possible criminal liability into the pollution. The Spanish Government launched an ambitious intervention through the Framework of Priority Actions to Recover the Mar Menor (MAPMM), aimed at restoring the natural dynamics and solving the problem from the source, articulated in 10 lines of action and 28 measures, by creating wetlands, supporting sustainable agriculture, constructing a wide green belt around it, cleaning up abandoned and polluted mining sites, improving flood risk management, increasing its biodiversity, and sustaining social participation. The total area targeted for restoration amounts to 8,770 hectares, representing 7 per cent of the entire basin flowing into the Mar Menor. This area would support Spain's climate change objectives, including its overall national target of restoring 870,000 hectares by 2030. For one of the proposed interventions, the Green Belt, it is estimated to absorb more than 82,256 tonnes CO by 2040 – the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions from almost 14,000 people in Spain. World Restoration Flagships are chosen as the best examples of ongoing, large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration by a group of ecosystem restoration experts from the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration's network. Selection follows a thorough review process with 15 criteria, embodying the 10 Restoration Principles of the UN Decade. In 2022, the inaugural ten World Restoration Flagships were recognized as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, followed with the recognition of seven initiatives in 2024.
Observer
06-04-2025
- Observer
Al Sifa as an ecotourism destination gaining popularity
MUSCAT, APRIL 6 A boat ride through the mangroves at Al Sifa is gaining momentum and popularity. Al Sifa Beach has different features... one part with flat rocks, another is a white sand beach, and the other with the mangroves. This is what the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation says about mangroves: 'As we navigate the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), mangroves emerge as emblematic of nature-based solutions to global challenges.'According to FAO, restoring mangrove habitats aligns with the decade's goals of halting biodiversity loss, combating desertification, and addressing climate change impacts. 'Gulf countries are at the forefront of these efforts, demonstrating a strong commitment to protecting and restoring mangrove habitats. By integrating traditional knowledge and leveraging advanced technologies, these countries are setting an example for the world,' FAO stated. The natural harbour has the fishermen park their boats, and this is also where one can explore this part of Oman's coast with the mangroves on a boat. The cost of the rides is reasonable, and the area is picturesque. The Green. Earth explains that mangroves are resilient trees and act as potent carbon sinks, utilising photosynthesis, sediment trapping, slow decomposition, and peat formation to store atmospheric CO2. 'Over the past two years, Oman's efforts have seen the planting of over 3.5 million mangrove seeds, with a record-breaking 2 million trees this year. Coastal areas from Dhofar to Muscat and the Daymaniyat Islands are now reaping the benefits of this green resurgence,' the organisation writes in its report on Oman. It pointed out that this groundbreaking initiative marks a pivotal step towards Oman's zero-emissions aspirations, estimating significant environmental and economic gains through restoring and preserving the invaluable mangrove ecosystems. Al Sifa, as a tourist destination, is gaining its prominence, as can be seen with the available amenities. There is a store for renting tents and tenting equipment. There are established facilities, from rooms to caravans. Most importantly, the public restrooms are available right on the roadside. It is almost a 50-minute drive from Wadi Kabir, but there are options from Muttrah and Al Hamriyah as well. The scenic route is much admired, and by the time the Wadi Al Rahba and Al Maha petrol station is crossed, one can enjoy the beauty of Al Sifa. One has to be careful about donkeys and goats on the roadside. But once there, time and mind can be on reset mode, making it an ideal location for ecotourism. The boat ride operators said Eid holidays saw a busy season. But on the beach sides that are popular for camping, picnickers had left the trash behind. The visitors have to bear in mind each season is important. Currently, the shrubs on the beach with wading rocks are in full bloom, attracting a swarm of white butterflies.
