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UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 

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CEM Dialogues

The CEM Dialogues are still going strong, the subscriptions number are very good, almost 200 subscribers for each Dialogue, and the Q&A section is always very active. Thank you for your participation and dedication to this chain of event. Since April we had 3 new Dialogues:

6^th Dialogue Ecosystem governance – Principles & Tools

In this session, we introduced the background and concept of ecosystem governance and propose a set of principles that are based on a survey completed in 2020. The principles are based on ideas of sustainability, participatory approaches and space. A discussion followed the presentation to comment on these proposed principles and help further their development.

The 6th CEM Dialogue was presented by Liette Vasseur, Governance Thematic group Leader and Tomas Zulkin, Governance Thematic group Co-Leader

7^th Dialogue Rewilding - Theory & Practice

In this session, we introduced Rewilding Theory & Practice in two parts:

Part I: Theory. we introduced the concept of rewilding and the rewilding principles, and outlined rewilding theory of change. We also briefly mapped rewilding against related concepts and global initiatives, e.g. NbS and UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. In Part II: Practice. we focused on legal contexts for rewilding and global rewilding practice through a series of 'notes from the field' case studies. In the wrap up we pointed to next steps for rewilding and the RTG.

The 7th CEM Dialogue was presented by Ian Convery and Steve Carver

Rewilding Thematic group Leaders. Others participants: Rene Beyers, Adam Eagle, Zoltan Kun, Sally Hawkins, Erwin van Maanen

8^th Dialogue Experiences with business models & ecosystem restoration within a landscape approach.

In this session, we talked about experiences with business models within a holistic landscape approach. E.g. within the 1000 Landscape Initiative a shared vision was agreed that was based on a road-tested holistic 4 Returns Framework for large-scale landscape restoration that places, system change, people, biodiversity, and business creation at the heart. This session focused on business case development, challenges and barriers. The 8th CEM Dialogue was presented by Willem Ferwerda, Business and Ecosystem management Thematic group Leader. Other participants: Paul Chatterton and Victoria Gutierrez

Please, don’t hesitate to watch the full playlist of these events on our YouTube Channel.

Principles for Rewilding

International teamwork with IUCN CEM Rewilding Task Force developed global definition and ten universal guiding principles for rewilding. “Rewilding is on a continuum of scale, connectivity, and human influence and aims to restore ecosystems to achieve self‐sustaining nature.” Here are the links of the Issues Briefs as well as the PDF format.

Principles of Ecosystem Restoration for the UN Decade

CEM’s Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group partnered with the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) to assist the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration with development of Principles for Ecosystem Restoration.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a powerful initiative for positively addressing the co-crises of biodiversity and climate and for improving human wellbeing, health and livelihoods. But there is confusion about what qualifies as a restorative management activity and about the distinctions between forest and landscape restoration, ecosystem restoration, ecological restoration, and more. In order to develop a shared vision of ecosystem restoration for the Decade, 58 international experts on restoration and nature-based solutions met in April 2021 for the Third Global Forum on Ecological Restoration. The Global Forums on restoration are organized biennially by CEM and SER to advance the science and practice of restoration.  The UN Decade Best Practices Task Force was also a partner in the Third Global Forum.  During the Forum, participants contributed to the identification of core principles for all types of restoration and restorative activities; the initial development of a framework for prioritizing the most impactful restorative activities; and draft preliminary standards of practice for restorative activities. Participants also drafted a preliminary definition of net gain across the continuum of possible restoration activities. In combination, these advances contribute to the development of a shared understanding of the concept of ecosystem restoration and the potential for investments in restoration to achieve measurable ecological and social improvements in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them.

After the Forum, a small team from CEM, SER, and the UN Decade Best Practices Task Force revised the principles and sent them for internal review by the Decade’s Science and Best Practices Task Forces, as well as Global Forum participants.  Once feedback was incorporated, the principles were published in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Launch report and a Global Consultation was launched through the UN Decade website.  The Global Consultation will close at 6:00PM CEST on Monday, the 19th of July. 

CEM’s Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group will be hosting a webinar on the Principles on Friday, the 16th of July from 12:00-13:00 EDT (UTC-4), during their monthly webinar series, Global Initiatives in the Science and Practice of Ecosystem Restoration”.  If you have already registered for the series, the link to join remains the same each month and will be included in the reminder email.  If you are not registered for the series, you can Register Here 

Impact Mitigation and Ecological Compensation Thematic Group

New website and video explainer series on biodiversity offsetting

The Impact Mitigation and Ecological Compensation Thematic Group has a new website, available here: https://www.impactmitigation.org/, featuring a new series of nine short videos. This is a set of plain language videos explaining the ins and outs of biodiversity offsetting and ecological compensation, key elements of best practice, and the risks and dangers of poor offset design and implementation. They offer insight to anyone wanting to learn more about offsetting and its impact on biodiversity. The whole series can be viewed here. Thank you to everyone who contributed to their development.

Fisheries Expert Group (FEG)

Marine capture fisheries in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

The IUCN-CEM Fisheries Expert Group (FEG) pursued its collaboration with FAO and CBD on matters related to fisheries sustainability and biodiversity conservation. It participated actively in the 24th Session of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA24) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),  particularly in relation to Marine and Coastal Biodiversity, focusing on (i) Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs); (ii) Other effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs); and fisheries in the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). In addition, in the margin of SBSTTA, FEG Organized two virtual side-event, jointly with the European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD) and FAO and with the active participation of The CBD Secretariat. 

The first event, on OECMs, was organized on the 19th of May, by FEG with the FAO collaboration and the active participation of the CBD Secretariat, presented the outcomes of a virtual Expert Meeting organized in March 2021 by FEG and the International Council for the Exploration of the (ICES), to test available guidance against 6 case studies for the North Atlantic. The outcomes were quite positive for the perspective of mainstreaming OECMs in the fishery sector. A report is available here. The recording of the meeting is available here. 

The second event, on Fisheries after Aichi Target 6, was organized on the 20th of May, by FEG with the collaboration of FAO and the active participation of the CBD Secretariat. It consisted of a moderated but informal “conversation” among fisheries and conservation panelists, addressing the implications , for the fishery sector, of the fact that The Post 2020 GBF might apparently not have any successor Target to Aichi Target 6, raising the question of how fisheries might relate to the GBF and to the global agendas on biodiversity in the future. The outcomes on the synergies and opportunities for collaboration between sustainable marine fisheries and biodiversity conservation community are summarized in the report available here. The recording of the meeting is available here.

Commission on Ecosystem Management Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and Metropolitan Natural Park

Summary of the Environmental Education Forum. By: Dinorah Víquez. Metropolitan Natural Park, Panama. Member of IUCN

For more than five years, the Metropolitan Natural Park of Panama has held talks and forums with the support of prestigious organizations in the country, to celebrate the Environmental Education Day.

This year 2021, it was considered to expand the spectrum of the forum and turn it into an international event with the support of excellent professional friends from several countries, members of IUCN Commissions, such as CEC and CEM.

We were able to form a group of 12 professionals from 9 countries who supported the development of the event, others as moderators and most of them as speakers.

This event demonstrated how communication helps us to achieve excellent products and allows us to become more united in this great family that is the IUCN.

The event was called: International Forum "Environmental education and communication: building bridges for socio-environmental transformation in Latin America" was held on February 26, 2021, with the participation of countries such as: Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Nicaragua and Panama from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Panama time).

The main objective of the event was to achieve a cohesion of environmental educators and communicators to set a roadmap for socio-environmental transformation, to live a healthy environment in Latin America.

The Metropolitan Natural Park thanks the team of professionals who supported the execution of this event, these are:  Ana Julia Gómez (Argentina), Froilán Esquinca (Mexico), Adriel Magnetti (Argentina), Heidi Jiménez (Costa Rica), Alfredo Gálvez (Peru), Marta Ayala (Guatemala) and Lilian Apaza (Bolivia), for their extraordinary support and commitment in the development of the International Forum.

We thank the Metropolitan Natural Park team and Adriel Magnetti (Argentina) for their technical support and coordination of the event.

We commend the support of members of the Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) and the Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) and the leadership of both IUCN Commissions for their collaboration and technical endorsement of this event.

Commission on Ecosystem Management S. Asia Region

Asia Dialogue on WED, 2021: “Reimagining and Restoring Asia’s Ecosystems by Reconnecting Science, Policy and Practice”

 The theme of the World Environment Day (WED), 2021 is on ‘Ecosystem Restoration' and resetting our relationship with nature. The June 5th, 2021 also marked the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 which is particularly relevant for CEM as IUCN is the main global partner of the UN in this endeavor. For this region, this day has added another significance as Pakistan was chosen to be the host country for World Environment Day, 2021 to highlight environmental issues and showcase the country’s own initiatives and its role in global efforts.

In order to show our solidarity and also to keep our Asian Members updated and informed of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and how we all can reimagine, restore and reconnect with nature Deputy Chair IUCN CEM Dr. Madhav Karki organized an online webinar/ Asia Dialogue "Reimagining and Restoring Asia’s Ecosystems by Reconnecting Science, Policy and Practice" on 2nd June, 2021. The webinar was attended by large number of members from different countries of 5 regional networks in Asia. Dr. Karki made opening remarks followed by a presentation by Prof. Dong Shikui, Regional Chair, CEM-NE Asia on bridging the gaps between science and policy for sustainable grassland restoration and management.  Dr. Himlal Bharal, Forest Specialists group lead spoke about Bioenergy and Landscape Restoration: Recreating Energy Smart Ecosystems in Asia’s Degraded Forests and Landscapes. S. Asia Regional Chair made her presentation on the topic of Ecosystem Based Restoration efforts and Success Stories from S. Asian Mountains. Regional co-chair Dr. Hemanthi Ranasinghe presented a coastal case on raising Awareness on the Value of Healthy Ecosystems for Health and Green post Pandemic Recovery. The session included an interesting presentation from West Asia region by Mr. Ahmed El-Gharib on Conservation and Restoration Efforts of the Qur’anic Botanic Garden in Qatar. Dr. Siti Suriawati Isa, Regional Co-Chair South East Asia shared experiences on Ecosystem based Restoration and Management of Protected Area Ecosystem from SE Asia while, Ronnakorn Triragagon, Regional Co-Chair CEM-SE Asia made an interesting presentation on Capacity Building for Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration. Presentation saw lots of question from members followed by concluding remarks by Mr. Tamer Khafaga, Regional Chair CEM-West Asia.

Practical framework on agriculture, food and biodiversity within an landscape approach

Willem Ferwerda, member of IUCN CEM and the Advisory Board for the IUCN Initiative on Agriculture and Land Health, is happy to share with you a new UN Decade on Ecosystem report that was launched with UNCCD, WWF Landscape Finance Lab, Wetlands International and supported by FAO, UNEP and IUCN CEM on the 4th of June.

The report gives examples and guidance to restore landscapes at scale through a common language and framework, and how to develop businesses and attract blended funding.

You may also like a brief personal video explanation and find the whole event including the keynote of the UNCCD SG Ibrahim Thiaw here.

After 7 years of testing, we feel confident to share this in a wider environment as we are also working hard on building proof of concepts on the landscape valuation tool and landscape/ecosystem carbon.

The Young Professional Network organised two networking events as part of the Global Youth Summit

Developing principles for ecosystem governance to ensure net gain in biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing:  In this session, we introduced the concept of ecosystem governance and proposed a set of principles that are based on a survey completed in 2020. The principles are based on ideas of sustainability, participatory approaches and space. the networking session was attended by Liette Vasseur and Tomas Zuklin (CEM- Ecosystem Governance Thematic Group Leads). It followed a discussion with youth participants to help further the development of principles.

Intergenerational Partnerships for UN Decade on Ecosystem restoration: learning from meaningful youth engagement: This session introduced the information on the science and practice of Ecosystem Restoration and how ecological restoration can be applied as a tool for reversing ecosystem fragmentation. The networking session was attended by P.C. Abhilash (CEM - Agroecosystems Specialist Group), who covered the ecological, economic and biocultural significance of the land system, the drivers of land degradation and then the UN DER. Florent Kaiser (Global Landscapes Forum) and Sheikh Adil Edrisi (CEM YPN) presented the perspective of two YPs working in Ecosystem Restoration. This was followed by a discussion to help understand the perspectives of Youth.

Webinar on the Principles

When: Friday, July 16th Venue: Zoom Meetings 

CEM’s Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group will be hosting a webinar on the Principles on Friday, the 16th of July from 12:00-13:00 EDT (UTC-4), during their monthly webinar series, Global Initiatives in the Science and Practice of Ecosystem Restoration”.  If you have already registered for the series, the link to join remains the same each month and will be included in the reminder email.  If you are not registered for the series, you can Register Here

WCC – IUCN WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS Marseille

When: 3-11 September 2021 Marseille

The first hybrid in-person and virtual environmental event since the pandemic began, the Congress will drive action on nature-based recovery, climate change and biodiversity post-2020.

IUCN World Conservation Congress

Dhyani, Shalini & Kumar, Biju & Sinha, Neha & Raghavan, Rajeev & Selvaraj, Gayathri & Divakar, Nithin & V K, Anoop & Kannan, Shalu & Sinha, Alolika & Kulkarni, Apoorva & Das, Sandeep & Molur, Sanjay & Ajayaghosh, Ramvilas. (2021). Insights on COVID-19 impacts, challenges and opportunities for India's biodiversity research: From complexity to building adaptations. Biological Conservation. 255. 109003. 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109003. 

Joshi, Rajendra Kumar & Dhyani, Shalini & Gujre, Nihal & Singh, Ajay. (2021). Quantifying tree carbon stock in historically conserved Seminary Hills urban forest of Nagpur, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 10.1016/j.chnaes.2021.01.006. 

Dasgupta, R., Hashimoto, S., Basu, M. et al. Spatial characterization of non-material values across multiple coastal production landscapes in the Indian Sundarban delta. Sustain Sci (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00899-3 

Thakur, Tarun & Swamy, S.L. & Bijalwan, Arvind & Dobriyal, Manmohan. (2018). Assessment of biomass and net primary productivity of a dry tropical forest using geospatial technology. Journal of Forestry Research. 30. 10.1007/s11676-018-0607-8.

Lal, Preet & Kumar, Amit & Bharti, Supriya & Saikia, Purabi & Adhikari, Dibyendu & Khan, Mohammed. (2021). Lockdown to Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Opportunity to Create a Less Polluted Environment in India. Aerosol and Air Quality Research. 21. 200229. 10.4209/aaqr.2020.05.0229.

Joystu Dutta, Goswami, S. and Mitra, A. (2021). COVID19: Emerging Environmental Trends and the Way Forward. CRC Press. Taylor Francis, Boca Raton, USA. (Focus Book Published on COVID19 during November, 2020 and recognized as one of the first books by Taylor Francis on the topic globally.

Thakur, T.K., Patel, D.K., Dutta, Joystu, Kumar, A., Kaushik, S., Bijalwan, A., Fnais, M.S., Abdelrahman, K., Ansari, M.J. (2021). Assessment of decadal land use dynamics of upper catchment area of Narmada River, the lifeline of Central India, Journal of King Saud University-Science, Volume 33, Issue 2, 101322, ISSN 1018-3647, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2020.101322.

DeCock-Caspell, M. and Vasseur, L. (2021). Visualizations as a tool to increase community engagement in climate change adaptation decision-making. FACETS, 6, 1–12. Doi: 10.1139/facets-2020-0032

NbS related publications:

Scientific Advisor on the European Commission’s Science for the Environment Policy Brief “The solution is in nature”.

Guest Associate Editor. Frontiers Journal’s Special Issue on “Nature-Based Solutions for Natural Hazards and Climate Change”.

Systemic Pesticides - IUCN CEM & SSC Task Force

Science of the Total Environment J.-M. Bonmatin, E.A.D. Mitchell, G. Glauser et al.

Comment on “Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances”  Marion Desquilbet, Laurence Gaume, Manuela Grippa, Régis Céréghino, Jean-François Humbert, Jean-Marc Bonmatin, Pierre-André Cornillon, Dirk Maes, Hans Van Dyck, David Goulson

Engineered symbionts activate honey bee immunity band limit pathogens Sean P.Leonard, J.Elijah Powell, Jiri Peruka, Peng Geng, Luke C. Heckmann, Richard D. Horak.

An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA)
on systemic pesticides. Part 4: Alternatives in major cropping systems  Andrea Veres, Kris A. G. Wyckhuys, Jozsef Kiss, Ferenc Tóth, Giovanni Burgio, Xavier Pons, Carlos Avilla, Stefan Vidal, Jaka Razinger, Renata Bazok, Ewa Matyjaszczyk, Ivan Milosavljević, Xuan Vi Le, Wenwu Zhou,  Zeng-Rong Zhu, Hagus Tarno, Buyung Hadi, Jonathan Lundgren, Jean-Marc Bonmatin, Maarten Bijleveld van Lexmond, Alexandre Aebi, Aunu Rauf & Lorenzo Furlan

Resolving the twin human and environmental health hazards of a plant-based diet Kris A.G. Wyckhuys , Alexandre Aebi , Maarten F.I.J. Bijleveld van Lexmond , Carlos R. Bojaca, Jean-Marc Bonmatin, Lorenzo Furlan, Jairo A. Guerrero, Trinh V. Mai, Hoi V. Pham, Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, Yoshinori Ikenaka

Stay true to integrated pest management Kris Wyckhuys, Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, Alexandre Aebi, Maarten Bijleveld van Lexmond, Jean-Marc Bonmatin, Dave Goulson and Edward Mitchell

1. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration © United Nations

2. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration © Mitchell Luo
3. Screenshot of IUCN WCEL Biodiversity and the law webinar
4. Screenshot of IUCN CEM Ecosystem governance – Principles & Tools Dialogue
5. Screenshot of IUCN CEM Rewilding - Theory & Practice Dialogue
6. Screenshot of IUCN CEM Experiences with business models & ecosystem restoration within a landscape approach. Dialogue
7. Christels ©  Pixabay
8. Principles of Ecosystem Restoration for the UN Decade © United Nations
9. Screenshot of ÌUCN CEM's website of the Impact Mitigation and Ecological Compensation Thematic Group
10. Screenshot of 24th Session of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA24) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
11. Environmental Education Forum, Panama
12. Fishing Enets in Kerala ©  IUCN Maria D'Souza
13. Willem Ferwerda
14. IUCN World Conservation Congress

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The CEM Newsletter aims to keep IUCN CEM members, IUCN staff, and the wider IUCN network up-to-date with ecosystem management news and announcements.

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts.

Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia.