Africa has recorded 36.3 million hectares of land and ecosystems undergoing restoration, according to a new United Nations report, which has called for increased investment to speed up global environmental recovery.
The report, titled Nature’s Comeback: Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet, stated that about 252 million hectares across 149 countries are currently undergoing restoration, supporting more than one million green jobs.
The findings were presented on Thursday at the ongoing UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia. The report was jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the UN Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Africa ranks second globally in the documented restoration area, behind Asia, which accounts for 192.2 million hectares. Europe follows with 9.1 million hectares, while North and Central America have 5.8 million hectares, South America 5.4 million hectares and Oceania 3.2 million hectares.
However, the UN agencies warned that current efforts remain insufficient to achieve global biodiversity commitments by 2030.
The report estimated that annual funding for ecosystem restoration must rise from $64bn to $296bn by 2030, representing more than a fourfold increase. It added that the investment could create up to 32 million additional jobs worldwide.
It also highlighted slow progress in restoring freshwater, marine and coastal environments. Only 11 million hectares of freshwater ecosystems across 62 countries and 5.7 million hectares of marine and coastal areas in 46 countries were recorded as being restored.
The report noted that limited monitoring and reporting could mean the actual restoration figures for these ecosystems are higher than documented.
Reacting to the findings, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the world needed to move beyond individual restoration projects and adopt broader programmes capable of reversing environmental damage.
She called for increased action before 2030, stressing the need to protect existing ecosystems and recover degraded areas.
Similarly, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said ecosystem restoration should form part of sustainable land and water management, as well as efforts to transform food production systems.
The report further indicated that restoring 15 per cent of identified global priority areas could help store carbon equivalent to 30 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions released since the Industrial Revolution. It could also prevent 60 per cent of projected species extinctions.
Among the areas identified for increased funding are agroforestry, restorative reforestation, peatland recovery and seagrass restoration, with estimated annual investment requirements of $87bn, $52bn, $44bn and $28bn, respectively.
The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, urged governments to tackle the activities responsible for ecosystem destruction and improve monitoring to ensure restoration projects achieve lasting results.
The report also stressed that successful restoration programmes must involve local communities, protect land rights and recognise the knowledge and contributions of Indigenous Peoples.
It called for the next phase of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs from 2021 to 2030, to focus on building sustainable restoration economies that support environmental recovery and livelihoods.
