Regional and sub-regional capacity-building workshops on the restoration of forest and other ecosystems to support the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets
In response to decisions
XI/16 (paragraph 5),
XII/19 (paragraph 5), and the
Hyderabad Call for a Concerted Effort on Ecosystem Restoration, the Government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea Forest Service established the
Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI) to support Parties in achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets
5,
14 and
15 in an integrated manner. Through a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Forest Service, signed in March 2015, the CBD Secretariat is implementing the FERI. FERI support to Parties includes direct support to country projects as well as capacity building, including through a series of subregional workshops (Table 1).
The envisaged outcomes of the workshops include:
- Better understanding of information gaps in countries’ national reports and NBSAPs and of the ways to address them in the short term;
- Identified strengths and weaknesses of countries’ national targets under Aichi Targets 5, 14 and 15, the potential barriers (political, institutional) to the adoption of more specific or ambitious national targets, and the potential for synergies with other efforts such as in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation;
- Greater understanding of countries’ capacity and knowledge of natural ecosystem conservation and restoration techniques, planning and implementation; and
- Better understanding of progress, capacities and the needs of countries’ for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15, in order to prioritize support accordingly.
The workshops were organized in partnership with a number of organizations including, among others, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
Table 1: List of capacity-building workshops on the restoration of forests and other ecosystems to support the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets
Regional and sub-regional capacity-building workshops on ecosystem conservation and restoration to support achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets
In response to decisions
XI/16 (paragraph 5) and
XI/24 (paragraph 10), a series of regional and sub-regional capacity building workshops on ecosystem conservation and restoration have been organized (Table 2).
The expected outcomes of the workshops were:
- Increased capacity in countries to use appropriate assessment, policy and planning tools to promote ecosystem conservation and restoration at all appropriate levels;
- Development of national targets and plans for ecosystem conservation and restoration within the framework of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 11 and 15;
- Integration of these targets and plans into updated national biodiversity strategies and action plans and mainstreaming into broader national policies, plans and programmes;
- Strengthened partnerships for ecosystem conservation and restoration at national, local and regional levels; and
- Updated information for the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the status of progress towards achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 11 and 15.
The workshops were organized in partnership with a number of organizations including, among others, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Resources Institute, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the Center for International Forestry Research, BirdLife International and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, as well as regional partners.
Table 2: List of capacity-building workshops on ecosystem conservation and restoration to support achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets | |
| SUB-REGION |
DATE |
VENUE |
| Pacific |
25 - 29 November 2013 |
Suva, Fiji |
| Near-East and North Africa |
1 - 5 February 2014 |
Amman, Jordan |
| South America |
24 - 28 March 2014 |
Linhares, Brazil |
| Southeast Asia |
28 April - 2 May 2014 |
Jambi, Indonesia |
| Caribbean |
28 April - 2 May 2014 |
Belize City, Belize |
| Eastern and Southeastern Africa |
12 - 16 May 2014 |
Livingstone, Zambia |
| Europe |
2 - 6 June 2014 |
Isle of Vilm, Germany |
| Central, South and East Asia |
14 - 18 July 2014 |
Jeju, Republic of Korea |
| Central Africa |
8 - 11 July 2014 |
Douala, Cameroon |
| Mesoamerica |
25 - 28 August 2014 |
San José, Costa Rica |
| West Africa |
5 - 9 July 2015 |
Accra, Ghana |
Global studies on ecosystem restoration
In 2013, the Executive Secretary commissioned a global study to provide information on ecosystem degradation and the potential for restoration in response to paragraph 5 of decision
XI/16, in particular subparagraph (i).The outcome is a
draft technical report on the Review of Global Assessments of Land and Ecosystem Degradation and their Relevance in Achieving the Land-based Aichi Biodiversity Targets —carried out by the World Resources Institute, ISRIC–World Soil Information, University of Western Australia, and Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
The draft report provides a conceptual framework for identifying and quantifying expected benefits of restoration based on reviews of global and selected sub-global estimates and assessments for areas of degradation and of restoration potential. Of the six ecosystem types assessed—agroecosystems, grasslands, forests, drylands, wetlands, and coastal areas—wetlands are the most degraded. Globally, the report indicates that the extent of degraded lands with opportunities for restoration and rehabilitation are substantial. However, land degradation and restoration potentials are context and scale specific, and value-laden, as it involves different stakeholder needs and perspectives. Lastly, the report suggests that returns on investments in restoration have been explored to a lesser extent, despite initial information revealing a potential for high-yielding investments and private sector engagement.
The Secretariat of the Convention has also initiated, with funding from the Governments of Germany, Republic of Korea and South Africa, a
global study on the potential of public programmes with socio-economic and development objectives to contribute to large-scale biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and ecosystem restoration, and how biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration can contribute to poverty alleviation and development. The study has two major components: (i) a global overview and (ii) three in-depth country studies based on the experiences of Brazil, Republic of Korea and South Africa. The global study provides a global review of public programmes with socio-economic and development objectives that have been used for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, including through review and analysis of different case studies from all countries in all geographical regions. The in-depth country studies will focus on using these types of programmes to achieve large-scale conservation and restoration. These in-depth country studies will be stand-alone reports that accompany the global study, summarized and included as chapters within the report of the global study.
For more information, please refer to
Country Studies.
