🐅 Environment
Only a quarter of global restoration pledges carried out, finds UN midterm report
In 60 seconds: Only about 252 million hectares are documented as under restoration worldwide, roughly a quarter of the 1 billion hectares countries have pledged, says a UN midterm report on the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration released on Thursday. Countries must roughly triple their efforts to meet 2030 biodiversity targets. China alone accounts for 127.4 million hectares, while marine and coastal areas make up just 2% of the total.
Why it matters
Healthy forests, wetlands and seas store carbon, protect species and feed people. The report shows promises are far ahead of action with only four years left to 2030.
Explain it simply
Promising to fix a leaking roof and fixing only one tile in four still leaves you wet. The world is at that stage with nature.
The 3-minute read
What happened
The report, Nature's Comeback, used data from 149 countries. Land accounts for about 232 million hectares (92%), freshwater 11 million (4%) and marine and coastal areas about 5.7 million.
Background
More than 1.56 billion hectares, over 15% of the world's land, is degraded. Since 1970, about 384 million hectares of freshwater ecosystems have been lost, and wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests.
How it works
‘Under restoration’ means restoration work has been recorded, not that ecosystems have recovered. Restoring 15% of priority areas could prevent 60% of expected extinctions.
What's next
CBD chief Astrid Schomaker urged governments to tackle the root causes of degradation. The report calls for better monitoring, especially of freshwater and marine areas.
What it means for you
Restoration starts small: planting native trees, protecting a local pond or cleaning a stream all count. Look for such drives in your town.
Key numbers
- 252 million ha: Area documented under restoration
- 1 billion ha: Global restoration pledge
- 149: Countries whose data were used
- ~3×: Scale-up needed to meet 2030 targets
Both sides
- UN biodiversity officials: Countries cannot fix nature with one hand while destroying it with the other.
- Cautious readers: Reporting is patchy and definitions differ by country, so real progress may be harder to judge.
Key terms explained
- Ecosystem restoration
- Helping damaged forests, wetlands, rivers or seas recover their health and natural functions.
- Biodiversity
- The variety of all living things, from genes and species to whole ecosystems.
The story so far
- Mar 2019: UN General Assembly declares 2021–2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The resolution called on countries to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide, with UNEP and FAO leading the effort.
- Dec 2022: Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at COP15. Under the framework, countries agreed to bring at least 30% of degraded land, freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems under effective restoration by 2030.
- Today: UN midterm report: only a quarter of 1-billion-hectare restoration pledge on track
Exam notes (UPSC, SSC, Banking, PSC)
- The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) is led by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
- The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022; Target 2 is 30% restoration and Target 3 is ‘30x30’ protection.
- Under the Bonn Challenge, India has pledged to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was opened for signature at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
Likely exam question: What is ecosystem restoration? Why has progress under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration been slow, and what can India do?