AWARENESS AND DISCUSSION AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GENERAL IMPORTANCE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH.
The 1heart1tree art project during COP21 in Paris. For every virtual tree bought, a real one was planted
what we need for large-scale change:
- Vision
- Scalable solutions
- Local ownership and support
President Obama and Wangari Maathai, the founder of the GreenBelt Movement and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Publicity generated by the successful and historic global agreement last year at the COP21 in Paris has translated into an outpouring of on and offline media attention for all things green.
As we draw near to the next global UN climate conference, the COP22 in Marrakesh, the key question is; will the historic agreement signed last year in Paris translate into action? The signs are promising. China and the United States announced in early September that they would formally ratify the Paris Agreement, setting a hopeful tone for the global gathering in November.
One thing we do know is that, in order to achieve the goals set around the world, on top of the invaluable local initiatives by organizations and volunteers to restore ecosystems, innovative and large-scale action is needed. In this edition of Land Life Magazine, we therefore focus on the ingredients required to generate large-scale impact through nature restoration.
We need:
- Vision – Inspirational goals that can serve as an umbrella for our efforts
- Scalable solutions – Better knowledge sharing and tools that can be applied across contexts
- Local ownership and support – Community commitment and involvement in the process
In this issue we will look at three very different projects that are large in vision and scale but rooted in local community efforts.
In Mexico, an effort is underway to reforest all degraded land across the country through hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours, large infrastructure efforts and innovative commercial and sustainable initiatives. From revitalizing the ecosystem around Mexico City’s newest mega airport in Texcoco, to implementing new sustainable models of income generation and land restoration on Mexico’s ejidos in Carmen Sedan.
In the Salton Sea in California, municipal, state and federal efforts combined will restore a severely degraded ecosystem to prevent a national environmental emergency.
In the Western Cape of South Africa, local communities, NGOs and young conservationists are combining forces to restore a biodiversity hotspot, setting an example for future large-scale conservation efforts.
These projects demonstrate how a combination of vision, scalable solutions, and local ownership can have a powerful impact. Projects like these are inspiring new models of nature restoration that can be adapted to different contexts and, ultimately, can change the face of our planet.
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