In news– The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released the Restoration Barometer Report recently.
What is Restoration Barometer?
- Restoration Barometer was launched in 2016 as the Bonn Challenge Barometer.
- The Barometer has eight indicators that build a comprehensive picture of a country’s restoration progress.
- It records the size of the area being brought under restoration as well as the corresponding climate, biodiversity and socio-economic benefits, and covers the enabling policies and funding structures at the heart of successful restoration.
Key highlights of the report-
- The IUCN flagship (a first-of-its-kind report )Restoration Barometer report is based on data submitted by 18 countries to the IUCN Restoration Barometer from 2021 to 2022.
- This report demonstrates the progress that reporting countries are making on their restoration targets – and the flow of tangible benefits.
- As per the report, investments of USD 26 billion across 18 countries have restored 14 million hectares of degraded landscapes,an area about the size of Greece, created 12 million jobs and over 145 million tonnes of carbon sequestered.
- India is among four countries, including Ecuador, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, which are still in the process of finalising the data.
- The report details how 18 countries are using the Restoration Barometer tool to track progress on their restoration commitments under global agreements, which total 48 million hectares by 2030.
- At present, only the restoration of inland waters, terrestrial habitats and coastlands are covered by the Barometer.
- Next year, the Barometer will be further extended to include restoration efforts relating to several key marine solutions and habitats including kelp, seagrasses and shallow reefs.
- Endorsed by over 50 Governments, the Restoration Barometer was developed by IUCN with the support of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.
- It is the only tool that is already being used by Governments to track restoration and its benefits across all terrestrial ecosystems, including coastal and inland waters, and report on their commitments against global frameworks such as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Bonn Challenge, Paris Agreement
- It will also allow countries to track progress against restoration commitments under the forthcoming post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework targets leaders will set at COP15.
- The 18 countries which have submitted their progress report are Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.