Launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

This year’s World Environment Day, traditionally celebrated on 5 June, was marked by the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) proclaimed by the UN General Assembly (A/RES/73/284). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are leading UN agencies in the implementation of the Decade.

In this regard, on 7 June, the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation and the UNEP Office in Russia jointly with the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature (VOOP) highlighted at the TASS Press Centre the task of the Decade: restore the planet’s health in the context of the UN Global Goals.

A well-known TASS journalist Ms Victoria Kladieva was moderating the event.

In a video message on the World Environment Day the UN Secretary-General Mr António Guterres highlighted the three main dimensions of the growing environmental crisis and explained the role of the ecosystem restoration in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Underscoring the importance of preserving ecosystems, the UN Secretary-General noted that the conservation process itself could create new jobs and economic opportunities for businesses, accelerate the technical progress and combat poverty. “Today, let us start a new Decade,” António Guterres urged, “So that we finally make peace with nature and secure a better future for all.”

Further, the participants watched a video message by Ms Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. She explained the importance of ecosystem for the wellbeing of the planet and humans while emphasizing the necessity to take clear-cut measures to put an end to the crisis. “Many of the challenges that we face stem from the degradation of our land, our soils, our waterbodies, our forests and our oceans,” Ms Inger Andersen noted. The main goal of the Decade is to prevent, halt and reverse negative environmental effects of human activities. 

Mr Viacheslav Fetisov, UNEP National Goodwill Ambassador, Chairman of the Central Council, All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature (VOOP), noted that the authorities of the Russian Federation at the highest level prioritize tackling environmental issues, which is manifested in legislative initiatives. “It is not only a problem for Russia, but a universal one,” he stated and expressed hope for the UN to “take on the leading role in uniting the efforts of all stakeholders”, so that nations, in their turn, would “act constructively, like a team.” 

Mr Oleg Kobiakov, Director, FAO Office in Moscow, explained the role of FAO in achieving the goals of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. “Despite the scientific progress and new technologies of food production, the overwhelming majority of food products in the world are produced on the basis of the natural environment, he stated, which is either soil, or forests, or water.” 

The head of the FAO Office in Moscow highlighted the challenges related to the population growth and the increase in food consumption. According to FAO, if the global population reaches 10 billion people by 2050, the food sector would have to up its productivity by 50–70 percent, dependent on the region and its population density. “Obviously, we need to look for new solutions and minimize the environmental footprint of various segments of the agricultural sector,” Mr Kobiakov noted. “We need to produce more with less and improve ecosystem services provided by the agricultural productive environment, as everything within the FAO mandate – forests, waterbodies, soils – have an enormous potential of mitigating the negative effects of climate change, storing carbon, in particular.” 

Mr Vladimir Moshkalo, Head of UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Office in Russia, introduced the audience to the history of the Programme, listed its achievements, and recalled the 50th anniversary, which would be celebrated in 2022. He emphasized the “threatening state” of ecosystems, highlighting climate change and its consequences, the biodiversity loss and its exacerbation, as well as global pollution. 

Mr Vladimir Moshkalo cited disturbing facts: “According to UN estimates, today 1 million of the 8 million species that exist in nature are endangered, that is more than 12 percent of the total biodiversity.”  

“Achieving the SDGs requires large-scale restoration of degraded terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems around the world. To stop the degradation of ecosystems to achieve the SDGs is the main challenge for today. The goal of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on all continents. This will help to end poverty, combat climate change, and prevent the mass extinction of species. And its success depends only on the participation of all living on earth,” concluded Mr Moshkalo. 

Head of the UNEP Office in Russia also noted, “in September last year, in collaboration with FAO, we developed and approved a strategy and established a supervisory board that will coordinate the implementation of the goals and objectives of the Decade.” Then he turned to Mr Viacheslav Fetisov with an invitation to become a member of the Supervisory Board from the Russian Federation. “I think that this will help to implement and achieve the SDGs both in the world and in Russia,” he said. 

In turn, Mr Viacheslav Fetisov accepted the offer with gratitude, considering it an honour to represent the Russian Federation in the new programme. “The Russian Federation has the greatest resource for the life support of the planet Earth,” he responded, “and maybe our country will be the first to declare that it has such an organizational centre that is able to coordinate everything related to the future... The task is ambitious,” the Chairman of the Central Council of VOOP said in response.

Mr Vladimir Kuznetsov, Director of the UN Information Centre in Moscow, spoke about the upcoming international events within the framework of the UN Decade and noted the leading role of FAO and UNEP in the implementation of the tasks set: “Two leading UN agencies, FAO and UNEP, are specialized agencies for the implementation of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration programme. But this task is relevant for many organizations of the UN system related to both human life support and socio-economic development.” In conclusion, he stressed the importance of raising awareness, as well as combining efforts in the framework of environmental issues.

Dr Victoria Elias, Programme Director, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia, spoke about the current priorities in the conservation of ecosystems in the Russian Federation. The expert stressed that the WWF has become a global partner of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Referring to the data of scientists, she noted that “87 percent of all marine ecosystems and 77 percent of terrestrial ecosystems are already transformed, having been exposed to human influence, and it takes more effort to preserve them than to preserve those ecosystems that we still have intact.”

Dr Victoria Elias underscored that “the Russian Federation and Canada are the countries where the main ecosystems still remain intact.” In addition, she noted the importance of an innovative approach to ecosystem restoration. As a positive example, the expert cited Russia's activities in the Arctic: at the end of May, the Russian Federation took over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, and in the next two years Russia will coordinate the actions of all countries in this region. 

At the end of the press conference, Mr Oleg Kobiakov noted that Russia, indeed, “has all the resources to provide the entire planet with clean organic products, Russia accounts for 22 percent of the total forest cover and a fifth of the world's farmland, so we are optimistic about the conservation of ecosystems.” As part of measures to preserve ecosystems, “we need to rely on the resources that we have, because this maxim is truly accurate: We do not own the planet, we have borrowed it from our children.”