Under the current United Nations (UN) Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), ecosystem restoration has been roundly called for in clear recognition of its benefits for both nature and people. Given a wide range of benefits from protecting and reviving ecosystems, it significantly promotes the achievement of multiple goals and targets set out by the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework (GBF) – including not only those specifically addressing ecosystem restoration (e.g., Target 2) but also those entailing the relevant activities and their contributions associated with restoration initiatives (e.g., Targets 4, 10, 11). Despite great potentials as well as a variety of benefits of ecosystem restoration, evidence to guide policymakers and practitioners towards sound restoration outcomes remains scarce, whereas methodological challenges in measuring the progress and estimating the success of restoration are considerable. This side event will showcase a series of experiences from different regions in which integrated landscape approaches have been practiced pursuing ecosystem restoration and securing multiple benefits from productive landscape and seascape management. The featured case studies offer practical evidence and useful insights to help guide further restoration initiatives, advance relevant knowledge (both from Indigenous and local communities and modern sciences) and practices and address the methodological challenges in monitoring and evaluation of restoration efforts. The presentations of case studies will be followed by a panel discussion where participants from governments, international organizations, civil society, and academia will discuss how the on-the-ground experiences of restoration can inform policymaking and execution to support the implementation of the GBF.

Programme:

Opening & Welcoming Remarks

• Rina Miyake (Deputy Director of IPSI Secretariat, Programme Coordinator of UNU-IAS)
• Wataru Suzuki (Director of Biodiversity Strategy Office, Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan)
• TBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)

Presentations

1. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Tools to Support the Implementation of Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework -- Andrea Romero (Facilitator Task Force on Best Practices for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN)
2. Ecosystem Restoration through Practicing Landscape Approaches -- Maiko Nishi (Research Fellow, IPSI Secretariat, UNU-IAS)
3. Community-Based Woodland Restoration for Livelihoods and Sustainable Wood Fuel Utilisation in the Mole Ecological Landscape, Ghana (Video) -- Jacqueline Mbawine (Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Manager, A Rocha Ghana)
4. Multi-Stakeholder Platform for Coastal Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Livelihood in Sanniang Bay in Guangxi, South China (Video) -- Yufen Chuang (Visual Designer and Programme Specialist, Farmers’ Seed Network, China)
5. Applying Landscape Approaches for National Policies in Implementing Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework -- Suneetha M. Subramanian (Research Fellow, IPSI Secretariat, UNU-IAS)

Panel Discussion: How can we accelerate the restoration of productive landscapes and seascapes towards 2030?

Moderator: UNU-IAS

Panellists: 

• Irene Natukunda (GYBN Uganda)
• Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir (Chairperson, Unnayan Onneshan, Bangladesh / Professor of Economics and Chairman, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka)
• Francis O. Reyes (Dominican Republic)
• Wataru Suzuki (Director of Biodiversity Strategy Office, Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan)
• Andrea Romero (Facilitator Task Force on Best Practices for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, FAO)
• Christina Supples (Senior Project Manager of the GEF Global Biodiversity Framework Early Action Support, UNDP)