The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2021-30, as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It calls for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world for the benefit of nature, animals, and humans.
Definition
Ecosystem restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of a degraded, damaged ecosystem.
The Basic principle behind this is protecting biodiversity, improving animal-human health, increasing food security, water security, supporting climate change mitigation, adaptations, etc.
This is a massive scale project and it means to repair a billion hectares of land and wetland which are greater than the size of China, Canada, or the USA.
Ways of Ecosystem Restoration
- Reforestation
- Removal of Non-Native Species and Weeds
- Revegetation of disturbed area
- Daylighting streams
- Reintroduction of Native species
- Erosion Control
Benefits of ecosystem restoration
- Improvement the quantity and quality of forest and forest resources.
- Enhancement in food and water security
- Air quality improvement
- Resilience of climate change
- Increase in Job creation
Steps to Ecosystem restoration
Before the restoration process, it is important to remove the forces of disturbances that include cessation of mining or farming or erosion causes, removing of toxins from the soil, removal of exotic species.
Also repairing and replanting wetland, forestland, and other habitats.
Importance of Ecosystem Restoration
Restoration at a global scale is significant, as we as a whole tries to mitigate the extent of the ecosystem crisis that we face today. Also to protect the diversity, nature for future generations.