<
https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/fires-forests-un-recognizes-largest-ever-restoration-initiative-across-mediterranean>
"
Nairobi, 13 February 2024 – Vast areas of degraded forests along the
Mediterranean have been restored since 2017 as part of the Restoring
Mediterranean Forests initiative, encompassing nations such as Lebanon,
Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye. The initiative has today been recognized by the
UN as one of seven World Restoration Flagships, rendering the initiative
eligible for technical and financial UN support.
The Mediterranean basin is the world’s second largest biodiversity hotspot, yet
16 per cent of its forest species are threatened with extinction, in part due
to prolonged drought, extreme heat waves, and wildfires. Last summer saw the
largest wildfire ever recorded in Europe. Flames consumed over 50,000 hectares
in Greece, equivalent to around 95,000 football pitches, and fires from Italy
to Algeria and Tunisia killed civilians and forced much of the population to be
evacuated.
The awarded initiative has already restored an area of around two million
hectares across the region since 2017, more than 500 times the size of Athens.
Eight million hectares are planned for restoration by 2030, including targeting
wildfire-affected areas, under the Agadir Commitment.
The World Restoration Flagship awards are part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem
Restoration – led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) – which aims to prevent, halt, and
reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.
The awards track notable initiatives following global commitments to restore
one billion hectares – an area larger than China. The award for the
Mediterranean Forest Fires initiative was announced by UN Environment Programme
Advocate and Chef, Leyla Fathallah."
Via
Fix the News:
<
https://fixthenews.com/good-news-marriage-equality-thailand-conservation-romania-reforestation-mediterranean/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
