Seven pioneering initiatives in Africa, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia were named 2024 United Nations World Restoration Flagships on Tuesday for helping restore the health of degraded habitats.

Announced ahead of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) to be held from February 26 to March 1 in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, the seven initiatives are part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration that seeks to prevent, halt and reverse the depletion of terrestrial and marine life.

The UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are custodians of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, whose goal is to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land and oceans globally.

A joint statement released on the same day from the UNEP and FAO said the seven flagship projects are expected to restore nearly 40 million hectares of degraded habitats and create about 500,000 jobs.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the UNEP, said the recognition of the seven initiatives reaffirmed that nature-positive development was central to realizing a green and resilient future for humanity. "These initiatives show how we can make peace with nature, put local communities at the heart of restoration efforts, and still create new jobs."

"As we continue to face a triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, now is the time we must double down and accelerate restoration initiatives," Andersen added.

The seven flagship initiatives that have restored ecosystems impacted negatively by wildfires, drought, pollution and deforestation will be eligible for UN technical and financial support.

Filao trees, planted to slow coastal erosion along the Atlantic Ocean, line the beach in Lompoul village near Kebemer, Senegal, November 5, 2021. /CFP
Filao trees, planted to slow coastal erosion along the Atlantic Ocean, line the beach in Lompoul village near Kebemer, Senegal, November 5, 2021. /CFP

Qu Dongyu, director-general of the FAO, observed that restoring the terrestrial and marine ecosystem will be a giant step towards transforming food systems in light of climatic stresses, population pressure, and biodiversity loss.

"Ecosystem restoration is a long-term solution in the fight to eradicate poverty, hunger and malnutrition as we face population growth and increased need for food and ecosystem goods and services," Qu said.

Among the seven flagship initiatives is the Regreening Africa project, which seeks to restore 5 million hectares of the continent’s degraded land by 2030 and transform the livelihoods of local communities.

So far, regreening of more than 350,000 hectares of land across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Somalia has been achieved, reaching more than 607,000 households through training on tree planting.