UN honors China's ambitious ecosystems restoration project

NAIROBI, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's ambitious goal of restoring ten million hectares of vital ecosystems, including forests, grasslands and waterways, was among ten global flagship projects which were on Tuesday recognized by the United Nations for aiding planetary health.

The Shan-Shui initiative, which translates to "mountains and rivers", was recognized as World Restoration Flagship at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting underway in Montreal, Canada.

The implementation of the Shan-Shui initiative will revitalize ecosystems' health in China besides generating more than 3.2 million jobs across diverse sectors like tourism and wine-making, said a statement from the UN.

An estimated 70 million households, equivalent to 200 million people, will benefit from the initiative recognized under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson said projects that seek to restore degraded ecosystems will transform livelihoods while addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, habitat loss, and pollution.

Anderson said the Shan-Shui initiative demonstrates the tremendous economic benefits that come when humanity lives in harmony with nature.

According to the UN, China aims to complete 50 projects stretching across 700 counties focusing on large-scale protection and restoration of vital ecosystems between 2021 to 2030 under the Shan-Shui initiative.

Including the Shan-Shui initiative, the ten global flagship projects, which seek to reclaim the natural world, will be eligible for UN funding and technical support.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said these pioneering initiatives offer vital lessons on reclaiming habitats as a means to boost human health, food, and nutrition security.

The ten projects shine a spotlight on human ingenuity that should be harnessed to reverse habitat degradation that is pushing one million species on the verge of extinction, said the UN.