Nature Day

Today, world leaders, country ministers, youth activists, representatives of indigenous communities, NGOs and many more are convening in Dubai at COP28. This has been the case for the last two weeks, but today these meetings are happening under the theme of nature, land use and oceans. 

Nature’s rallying call has been growing, and today more than ever we need to ensure that decision makers understand the importance and ultimately the undeniable interdependency between nature and climate action. Because nature can provide us with over a third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to stabilize warming to below 2 °C. Whilst a major proportion of this can come from natural, biodiverse forests, the conversion and degradation of all natural ecosystems must be halted and reversed by 2030. However, nature is not a substitute for emissions cuts. If we fail to dramatically slash our emissions we will inhibit the ability for these ecosystems to sequester and store carbon. For our climate goals, we need nature and we need emissions cuts. 

But this goes beyond just our climate goals. Protecting nature and investing in the equitable and appropriate restoration of nature is also potent for our biodiversity and equality goals. Yes, we must reduce emissions - carbon should continue to be our focus. But so should biodiversity and the wellbeing of local communities and indigenous peoples as through them we will find a holistic and effective way to harness the power of nature for climate, biodiversity, and human wellbeing. 

And this is happening, right now, all over the world. Restor celebrates the stories and people who are demonstrating that a different world is possible, and the organizations that both support and lead the way in setting a new standard for business and finance.

"Restor has heard the unheard, reached the unreached, and we need this type of platform to express traditional knowledge," said Dr. Ng Ngashangva, co-founder, Rainforest Biodiversity of Phalee, India. These stories are the beating heart of Restor. In Fazenda São Francisco, Brazil, Belterra Agroforestry is working with smallholder farmers to transform dry, deforested, and over-utilized farmlands into vibrant agroforestry systems. These systems build back biodiversity, improve carbon sequestration, water retention, and soil health, whilst also providing the farmers with income thanks to the role Belterra plays in connecting farmers to markets for their produce. 

In Indonesia, the Biru Foundation works to train local community members in coral reef restoration, providing the tools and the know how. Kecinan bay’s coral reef has felt increasing pressures from a warming ocean and high levels of waste. But, this partnership has led to the revitalisation of corals and biodiversity in the Kecinan bay, led and cared for by the local community.  

In Kenya, when Leitoro Adrian protects patches of local forest, the vegetation traps moisture so that his community’s cattle can graze. By protecting nature, Leitoro is securing sustainable food, livelihoods and medicines for the Rendille tribe that he belongs to. This means that nature has become a viable option. As more and more nearby villages join in, nature continues to recover across the landscape.

And the community on Restor, originally made up of the hundreds of thousands of projects around the world working to protect and restore nature, now consists of actors throughout the value chain - governments, companies, organizations, the general public.  

As COP28 comes to a close we want to centre on two key points: we need nature to be central in mitigation and adaptation strategies, and we need transparency. Restor is a platform for governments to track the climate and biodiversity actions outlined in their enhanced NDCs, and the countries commitments to target 2 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, 30x30. In 2024 Restor will be inviting governments, businesses, and financial institutions to demonstrate, transparently on the platform, how and where they are investing, sourcing their products from, and supporting local communities. In addition, in the upcoming year Restor will be providing immediate access to the latest suite of biodiversity monitoring tools, including eDNA (NatureMetrics), Bioacoustics (Rainforest Connection) and Biocomplexity Index (from SEED).

We are excited to highlight that this work is made possible by long-term collaborators like Google. Google.org just this month granted Restor $1.9million to accelerate the conservation and restoration of ecosystems. In addition, Restor uses Google Earth Engine to leverage the best available scientific research and data for over 140,000 grassroots initiatives and nature-based businesses. Noel Gorelick, a founder of Google Earth Engine and a Member of Restor’s Executive Board, commented that “the integration of Google Earth Engine technology with Restor's global network of community-led initiatives has huge potential to demonstrate the power of democratizing data insights to deliver impact on the ground.” Join us in creating a world where every action positively impacts nature.