The projects are part of the 10 innovative initiatives from different regions of the world recognized during the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) taking place in Montreal, Canada.
After being designated flagship initiatives of global recovery, the initiatives may receive support, advice, or funding.
The common goal of the 10 proposals is to restore more than 68 million hectares of degraded land, an area larger than that of Myanmar, France or Somalia, and create 15 million jobs.
The awards are part of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that aims to: Prevent and reverse degradation of natural spaces across the planet.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that transforming people’s relationship with nature “is key to reversing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of natural resources and biodiversity, and pollution and waste.
He added that the initiatives show that political will, science and collaboration across borders make it possible to create a more sustainable future not only for the planet but also for people.
Also, the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, Qu Dongyu said that the winning proposals inspire learning to restore ecosystems and lead to better production practices, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all reach without leaving anyone behind.
The other eight winning projects are: marine rehabilitation in Abu Dhabi, the Great Green Wall in Burkina Faso and Niger, regeneration of the Ganges River in India, mountain reconstruction in Rwanda and Uganda, and rehabilitation of unique systems in Comoros, St. Lucia and Vanuatu.
Other award winners included the Altyn Dala conservation program in Kazakhstan, the construction of natural structures to protect mangroves in Java, Indonesia, and the Shan Shui Initiative, which brings together 75 projects in China.
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