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Pema Gyamtsho
4 mins Read
Today, to mark World Environment Day 2021, let me reiterate the significance of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. When the UN General Assembly passed this resolution on 1 March 2019, the goal was to scale up restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems as a mitigation measure to address climate change, enhance food security, and improve water security and biodiversity conservation.
This global initiative aims to restore the relationship between humans and nature, by safeguarding healthy ecosystems and addressing degradation through restoration at landscape scale so that Sustainable Development Goals can be met across different geographies. This restoration objective extends to all ecosystem types, from oceans to forests and wetlands. In the Hindu Kush Himalaya, forests, rangelands and cryosphere are significant ecosystems that have a global impact because of the importance they hold for freshwater, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and the ecosystem goods and services they provide for a quarter of the world’s population. Our Transboundary Landscapes Programme visualizes the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources at the scale of larger landscapes defined by ecosystems rather than by national and protected area boundaries, presenting a unique approach to achieving restoration at scale and tackling shared conservation challenges.
This global restoration goal was imagined much before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Since then, the pandemic has changed our perspective on globalization, economy, development, and the environment. It is clear that we cannot continue with business as usual. The pandemic provides a perfect opportunity to reflect on our relationship with nature, habitat destruction, and emerging infectious disease. Zoonotic diseases like SARS, swine flu, yellow fever, avian influenza, Ebola and COVID-19 have all been linked with overexploitation of natural resources and deforestation caused by anthropogenic drivers. Healthy ecosystems form natural barriers against zoonotic disease, and we increase the risks of outbreaks when we encroach into and destroy these habitats. Given current trends of deforestation and land use change, it is likely that these threats are going to increase in the future.
At this juncture, between the pandemic and the launch of the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, I have two messages.
First, the threat of pandemics can only be addressed through collective action at scale. We cannot rule out future outbreaks of pandemics by confining our actions within national boundaries. This requires global cooperation with regional actions across the wider landscape. Large landscapes restored under regional cooperation can strengthen natural barriers against zoonotic disease transfer into the future.
Second, we cannot continue with business as usual. We need to embrace nature-based solutions for our survival. Nature has sent us a very strong signal and it is up to us to learn and take corrective measures for saving humanity and the planet. Healthy ecosystems can provide a multitude of goods and services and serve as natural barriers against future pandemics. We need a new development paradigm that puts environment at the forefront.
In essence, while this declaration guides and contributes to the long-term goal of addressing a multitude of environmental issues, it also contributes to mitigating the risks from zoonotic disease and potential future pandemics.
However, there is inadequate financial support for such large scale restoration initiatives in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. This launch, and its renewed urgency during this pandemic, will hopefully help leverage the needed financial support by creating a platform for governments, private sector, civil societies and local communities to take action for ecosystem restoration at scale.
As we embark on this decade of ecosystem restoration, we have a commitment to assist our regional member countries in taking significant steps for planning and implementing large landscape-level restoration. In the past, through our REDD+ programme, we have been successful in designing regional-scale restoration programmes in the participating RMCs that leverage climate finance for national level implementing partners in different countries. We have also built the capacity of national partners for implementing restoration programmes.
We are now exploring opportunities for leveraging carbon finance to support afforestation activities in Nepal that will be implemented by national level institutions. To begin with, we are in discussions with provincial governments in Nepal through the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) to explore the possibilities for restoring up to 15,000 ha over the next decade in partnership with community forestry user groups. Once this is successfully rolled out, we plan to replicate this with government partners in Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan. This is a new approach as the resources for restoration of forest ecosystems are being provided by the private sector and transferred directly to the national implementing organisations. In return, the private firms receive carbon credits. This, in essence, is an example of how carbon finance can be leveraged for achieving the goals of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
The theme for this year’s World Environment Day is “Reimagine. Recreate. Restore”. We need a new imagination and we need new alliances and support at scale to achieve the restoration goal we have set for ourselves. I reiterate ICIMOD’s commitment to the restoration of the Hindu Kush Himalaya – the pulse of the planet – and call upon all governments, national institutions, community based organisations, and the private sector to come together and help us reach this goal. This is the decade for decisive action.
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由气候驱动的风暴、洪水、热浪和干旱的经济代价首次被计算出来,即在过去20年中,人类付出的代价已达到1600万美元/小时。其中,三分之二的费用是由于生命损失,剩下的则是因为财产和其他资产损失。 而这不仅是兴都库什-喜马拉雅的统计数据。今年,在我们整个地区,气候灾害给许多家庭来了难以承受的损失:数百人丧生,更多的房屋、农作物和财产在毁灭性的洪水和山体滑坡中被毁。最近,上周锡金蒂斯塔河(Teesta river)爆发冰川湖溃决洪水,这清楚地提醒了人类,大自然的愤怒是无止境的。 今年的国际减灾日与我们区域内的家庭、科学家和政策制定者共同评估了季风和全球升温给人类和经济带来的沉重代价,恰逢其时。 展望未来,气候驱动的灾难将激增。联合国减少灾害风险办公室(UNDRR)预计,到2030年,我们每年将看到560起灾难,使3760万人陷入极端贫困。 科学表明,我们处在风险热点地区。不仅与极端降雨和冰冻圈变化相关,还有热浪、干旱和空气污染。因此,在计算这次季风事件的成本时,我们所有为该地区及其居民服务的人都有责任以更高的速度和更强的雄心,将科学、政策和行动联系起来,实现让所有人都能得到早期预警的目标。 我们急需捐助者深入了解该地区居民所面临的风险,无论是从危险量级和程度来看,还是从受影响的人口规模来看。我们迫切需要适应基金、绿色气候基金和儿童投资融资基金更快地分配到该地区,以及加强补偿机制的运作。 在ICIMOD,我们将在全球范围内倡导双方,还将在整个地区努力建立一种围绕防灾和数据共享文化;对政策制定者进行差异和关键行动领域的教育;为社区配备创新及可行的技术,并扩大以社区为基础的洪水预警系统。 我们所在地区的情况表明,全球范围内面临的灾害存在着巨大的不平等。我们的研究发现,当危机来临时,妇女和弱势群体受到的影响尤为严重。 为了消除这种不平等,我们郑重承诺通过整合工具、知识和资金,确保该地区居民能够有效抵御未来的冲击,并将妇女和弱势群体纳入我们战略的核心。对于兴都库什-喜马拉雅的国家而言,全民早期预警尚需更及时的实现。 白马·嘉措 总干事
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