Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystems Restoration | Geneva Nature-based Solutions Dialogues

The Geneva Nature-based Solutions dialogues aim to facilitate further engagement and discussion among the stakeholders in International Geneva and beyond, in the lead-up to a critical year for nature and society. The dialogues are convened by the Geneva Environment Network and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This special session on ecosystems restoration is held within the framework of the UN Decade on Restoration and World Environment Day celebrations.

Ecosystem restoration entails assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. Ecosystem restoration is a process of reversing the degradation of ecosystems, such as landscapes, lakes and oceans to regain their ecological functionality – in other words, to improve the productivity and capacity of ecosystems to meet the needs of society. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield many benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases. Thus, ecosystem restoration encompasses practices that fit under the umbrella concept of NbS.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs from 2021 until 2030, is the opportunity to strengthen action for nature and people, by employing NbS on the largest scale yet to safeguard food security and clean water, and halt biodiversity loss and climate change. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and implemented with and by partners from across the globe, the UN Decade is building a strong, broad-based global movement to ramp up restoration and put the world on track for a sustainable future.

The stated purpose of the Decade is to reinforce efforts already under way to progress these and other restoration endeavours through financing, capacity building and implementation. This is at the forefront of this Decade – and it will take all of us to truly make an impact. IUCN is bringing in this Decade its vast network of members, partners and experts, thus reinforcing its long-standing commitment to conserving and restoring ecosystems, and building on advances that have already been made to enable restoration actions around the world.

As the UN family launches the decade on World Environment Day (5 June), actors in Geneva and beyond can amplify the call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world. This session will contribute to this momentum by shedding light on the importance of ecosystem restoration as an NbS for the future of our planet and societies.