Decision COP XI/16
Ecosystem restoration
Noting the key messages contained in section IV of the note by the Executive Secretary on ways and means to support ecosystem restoration, prepared for the fifteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/4), in particular that ecosystem restoration is not a substitute for conservation, nor is it a conduit for allowing intentional destruction or unsustainable use,
1.Urges Parties and encourages other Governments and relevant organizations to make concerted efforts to achieve Aichi Biodiversity Targets 14 and 15 and targets 4 and 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, and to contribute to the achievement of all the other Aichi Biodiversity Targets through ecosystem restoration through a range of activities depending on national circumstances, including:
(h)Identifying opportunities to link poverty eradication and ecosystem restoration, inter alia through the rehabilitation or restoration of ecosystems that provide services upon which women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable are directly dependent, and the development of restoration projects that provide employment and skills improvement;
2.Invites Parties, other Governments, relevant intergovernmental organizations, the Society for Ecological Restoration, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Resources Institute, the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, the International Tropical Timber Organization and other relevant organizations and initiatives such as the Sub-Global Assessment Network, as appropriate, to support countries in implementing ecosystem restoration by:
(g)Developing and implementing communication programmes highlighting the economic, ecological and social benefits of ecosystem restoration, including awareness-raising among the general public, policymakers and environmental and other managers, not only on the crucial role that ecosystems play in providing ecosystem services, but also on the costs associated with ecosystem degradation, lost incomes, compensation and increased expenses in production; and the cost savings, benefits and potential solutions that restoration can contribute to common political challenges;
(h)Supporting the development and implementation of regional, subregional or national plans, programmes or projects for restoring ecosystems, taking into account the ecosystem approach and the integration of ecosystem restoration into broader planning processes, such as spatial and landscape planning;
3.Recognizing that developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, including countries that are centres of origin or diversity of genetic resources, require financial and technical resources in order to implement ecosystem restoration programmes and achieve the related Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including Targets 14 and 15, and that such resources should be provided by financial mechanisms under Article 20 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and mobilized according to Article 20 and the strategy for resource mobilization in line with decisions IX/11, X/3 and XI/4;
(b)Facilitate the further development, based on information provided in documents UNEP/CBD/COP/11/INF/17 and 18, of a range of implementation tools and practical guidance for ecosystem restoration aimed at different audiences and translated into all United Nations languages, and make it available through the clearing house mechanism;
(c)Facilitate, in collaboration with relevant partners, the development of a user-friendly, comprehensive web portal on ecosystem restoration, as part of the clearing house mechanism, to facilitate access to and dissemination of documents, case studies and tools for capacity–building;
(f)Identify, and where appropriate and feasible, pursue opportunities for collaboration among the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and other multilateral environmental agreements in order to enhance and harmonize efforts in ecosystem restoration and avoid duplication;
(g)In collaboration with partners, facilitate the development of a tool for collating and presenting baseline information on the condition and extent of ecosystems, in order to facilitate the evaluation of Aichi Biodiversity Target 15 so as to assist Parties in identifying ecosystems whose restoration would contribute most significantly to achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;
(i) Develop clear terms and definitions of ecosystem rehabilitation and restoration and clarify the desired outcomes of implementation of restoration activities, taking into account the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and other relevant targets;
- Body
- Conference of the Parties (COP)
- Meeting
- COP-118 - 19 October, 2012Hyderabad, India
- Actors
- 19 3 Parties 3 Other Government(s) 1 Relevant organizations 2 Stakeholder(s) 10 Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- AICHI targets
- 7
- Decision document
- Ecosystem restoration
- Documents
- UNEP/CBD/COP/11/21UNEP/CBD/COP/11/INF/17UNEP/CBD/COP/11/INF/18UNEP/CBD/COP/11/INF/19UNEP/CBD/COP/13/INF/10UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/18/14
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