4. Global initiatives aligned with Target 2

Ecosystem restoration contributes to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a wide number of other global policies and agreements (International Resource Panel, 2019, UN Restoration Decade Strategy). The UN Restoration Decade Strategy outlines the expected contributions of ecosystem restoration during the decade to a wide variety of policies and MEAs.

In addition, the recent CBD information paper (CBD/SBI/4/INF/13), “Key entry points for cooperation and collaboration among multilateral environmental agreements,” cross-maps the KM-GBF to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and 13 other MEAs. Major intersections of Target 2 exist with SDGs (including 6.6, 14.2, 15.1 and 15.3); the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the Land Degradation Neutrality targets supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Strategic Plan Targets 8 and 12); the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030; the Bonn Challenge, which was originally based on Aichi Biodiversity Target 15; and New York Declaration on Forests targets of restoring 350 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Like the UN Restoration Decade, Target 2 also intersects with the World Heritage Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the UN Strategic Plan for Forests, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, REDD+ under the UNFCCC, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and the Regional Seas Conventions. It will also complement the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019–2028), the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development (2018–2028), and The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2023; Section 4.2). Coordination mechanisms have been established by the UN Restoration Decade’s lead agencies, the FAO and UNEP. Additional initiatives are described in Section 6.2. Global initiatives should recognize and support Indigenous-led restoration efforts, promoting the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and governance systems in international restoration frameworks.

4.1 The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030

In 2019, the United Nations proclaimed 2021–2030 the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UN Restoration Decade), with the primary aim being to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Notably, the UN Restoration Decade envisions “a restored relationship between humans and nature,” emphasizing the need for transformative change. Examples of restoration activities in the UN Restoration Decade Strategy (2020) include enhancing organic carbon in agricultural soils, increasing fish stocks in overfished zones, remediating polluted sites, restoring ecological processes, and restoring biodiversity and conserving fauna and flora that can assist in the restoration process.

The UN Restoration Decade is led by FAO and UNEP, and the CBD Secretariat is a collaborating agency.

Working through its five task forces (best practices, finance, monitoring, science, youth), the UN Restoration Decade offers an inclusive communication and experience-sharing platform to support and celebrate restoration action around the globe.

The UN Restoration Decade has issued Principles and Standards of Practice for ecosystem restoration to support its operationalization (see Section 3.2). Through its World Restoration Flagships, the UN Restoration Decade seeks to honour high impact examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restoration, embodying the 10 Principles of the UN Restoration Decade. While the UN Restoration Decade does not itself have a formal target, it urges countries to meet their restoration commitments made through the different MEAs and other global initiatives with restoration targets or components. A major aim of the UN Restoration Decade is to build linkages and support those commitments, recently estimated at over 1 Bha (Van der Esch et al., 2022). Coordination mechanisms have been established by the UN Restoration Decade’s lead agencies, the FAO and UNEP. The UN Decade includes work focused on the role of Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems in addressing biodiversity loss and highlighting the benefits of biocentric restoration and other approaches led by Indigenous Peoples.

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4.2 The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030

The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (UN Ocean Decade) has strong links to ecosystem restoration (UNESCO-IOC, 2021). Outcome 2 for the ‘ocean we want’ is “A healthy and resilient ocean where marine ecosystems are understood, protected, restored and managed.” Outcome 2 acknowledges that priority knowledge gaps of ecosystems and their reactions to multiple stressors need to be filled. This is particularly true where multiple human stressors interact with climate change, including issues such as acidification and temperature increase.

Challenge 2 of the Ocean Decade, a Knowledge and Solutions Challenge, is: Understand the effects of multiple stressors on ocean ecosystems and develop solutions to monitor, protect, manage and restore ecosystems and their biodiversity under changing environmental, social and climate conditions.

UN Ocean Decade programmes tightly aligned with ecosystem restoration include the The Global Ocean Decade Programme for Blue Carbon; Global Coastal Ocean Restoration and Resilience; and programmes on sea ice, kelp, mangrove and coral restoration. Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge systems and territorial management practices are vital for the restoration and sustainable management of marine ecosystems. Therefore, their involvement should be prioritized in the UN Ocean Decade initiatives.