#Foodwastefriday: International Environment Day is Tomorrow!
Investing in ecosystems is investing in our future!
World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5 to raise awareness and generate action on a pressing environmental issue. The Day offers an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and renew our resolve in overcoming the environmental challenges facing the world today.
From forests to peatlands to coasts, we all depend on healthy ecosystems for our survival. Ecosystems are defined as the interaction between living organisms - plants, animals, people - with their surroundings. This includes nature, but also human-made systems such as cities or farms.
Ecosystem restoration is a global undertaking on a massive scale. It means repairing billions of hectares of land – an area greater than China or the USA – so that people have access to food, clean water and jobs.
Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet and its people.
Ecosystem restoration means bringing back plants and animals from the brink of extinction, from the peaks of mountains to the depths of the sea.
But it also includes the many small actions everyone can take, every day: growing trees, greening our cities, rewilding our gardens or cleaning up trash alongside rivers and coasts.
All kinds of natural as well as human-made ecosystems can be restored, including forests, farmlands, cities, wetlands and oceans.
Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield greater benefits for the planet and its people. These include, among many others, more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases.
Restoring ecosystems, large and small, protects and improves not only our planet but also the livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them. For every dollar invested in restoration, at least seven to thirty dollars in returns for society can be expected. Restoration also creates jobs in rural areas where they are most needed.
Some countries have already invested in restoration as part of their strategies to bounce back from COVID-19. Others are turning to restoration to help them adapt to a climate that is already changing.
Ecosystem Restoration Playbook
People and the planet are only as healthy as the ecosystems we all depend on. Bringing degraded ecosystems back to life – for example by planting trees, cleaning up riverbanks, or simply giving nature space to recover – increases their benefits to society and biodiversity. Without reviving ecosystems, we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Climate Agreement. But ecosystems are also complex and highly varied, and their restoration needs careful planning and patient implementation.
To encourage the revival of ecosystems everywhere, UNEP has published a practical guide to ecosystem restoration. The Ecosystem Restoration Playbook provides an introduction to the range of actions that can slow and halt the degradation of ecosystems and foster their recovery.
Designed for all interested individuals and stakeholder groups, the guide outlines three pathways to getting involved in ecosystem restoration during the UN Decade and beyond:
Taking action such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project
Making smart choices like buying only sustainable products and changing diets
Raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration
Ready to learn more?
Browse through the 2021 official schedule of events hosted by UNEP and Decade Partners, featuring high level speakers, expert panels and other events taking place around the world.
https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/latest/official-event-schedule
Some events to get excited about!
Restoring Life to the Land - The Role of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in Ecosystem Restoration
Securing Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Farmland Restoration: Why Training and Collaboration Are Key to the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration
Why international days?
International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, mobilize political will and resources to address global problems and celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool.
