World is far behind on ecosystem restoration target, UN says

SINGAPORE: Restoration is ⁠underway on 252 million hectares (973,000 square miles) of degraded ecosystems ​across 149 ​countries, the United Nations' environment agency said on Thursday, way behind a global target of 1 billion hectares by 2030.
* As part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework signed in late 2022, ⁠countries agreed to restore around 1 billion hectares ⁠of degraded territory by 2030, and to ensure at least 30% of the world's ecosystems were under effective protection
* Of ‌the 252 million hectares now ​being restored, 192.2 million ⁠hectares are in Asia, led by ​China with 127.4 million hectares, ‌according to the UN's Restoration Progress Report, published during a new ​round of biodiversity negotiations in Yerevan, Armenia
* Terrestrial restoration has reached nearly halfway to the 2030 target, but limited progress has been made on freshwater and marine ecosystems, despite faster ‌rates of degradation
* It added that annual ​restoration finance needs to rise from $64 billion to $296 billion by ​2030, ‌including $87 ⁠billion for agroforestry, $52 billion for restorative reforestation and $44 billion for peatland restoration
* It said there was ​a strong economic case for increasing spending, ⁠with more ​than half the global gross domestic product generated by economic activities that are highly dependent on nature
* Restoring 15% of the world's priority ecosystems could also ​capture and store 30% of industrial CO2 ​emissions and avoid 60% of species extinctions, the report said