United Nations agencies on Thursday released a report stating that annual global funding for ecosystem restoration needs to increase from $64 billion to $296 billion to meet global restoration targets. The report was launched at the COP17 biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia.
According to the report, increasing the annual investment to $296 billion could create up to 32 million jobs worldwide by 2030. The agencies said there must be rapid acceleration to meet global commitments, particularly in freshwater, marine, and coastal ecosystems.
The UN Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the UN biodiversity secretariat co-published the findings. The assessment marks the halfway point for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs through 2030.
Currently, 149 countries are restoring 252 million hectares of land and sea, an area approximately the size of Kazakhstan. The effort has generated over one million green jobs to date. Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said the world is witnessing the makings of one of the largest movements for nature in recorded history.
The agencies said more action is needed to meet global restoration targets. The report assesses progress on a global commitment to restore around one billion hectares of land and ensure that 30% of the world’s ecosystems are under conservation, in line with a 2022 agreement known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Progress is variable across ecosystems and countries. The restoration of terrestrial ecosystems has reached nearly half the 30% target, but marine and coastal restoration has been far more limited. Dongyu Qu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said the challenge is to make restoration an integral part of the sustainable management of land, water, and natural resources.
Research suggests that restoring 15% of global priority areas could prevent 60% of projected species extinctions, while 30% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions could be sequestered. The report noted that restoration must be sustained long enough to enable ecosystem and biodiversity recovery while delivering lasting benefits for communities. Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, said governments must address the drivers of ecosystem degradation and invest in monitoring mechanisms to ensure the movement’s durability.