Now more than ever, ecological restoration is more urgent. Recovering ecosystems that have suffered the devastating consequences of climate change should be the World’s number one priority. For that reason, 2021’s theme for World Environment Day is precisely ecosystem restoration. It will mark the beginning of the “United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.”
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When we’re confronted with natural disasters, we automatically work together to take action and redeem the mistakes of the past. Of course, enthusiasm to do something is always welcome. However, haste can lead to misguided actions that can be more harmful than beneficial. Ecosystem restoration isn’t just about planting trees all at our pace, there are many factors to evaluate first.
Together with Pakistan, the United Nations is trying to change this idea and raise awareness of what’s really happening to the entire planet. For this reason, they’ve designated ecosystem restoration as the central theme for World Environment Day, which is celebrated annually on June 5 and is being hosted this year by Pakistan.
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Going beyond planting millions of trees
Planting is of utmost importance, yes, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg in the restoration process. If you’re committed to restoring or reforesting forests before spreading seedlings all over the land, you must first consider the soil. It may not be well known, but trees don’t feed themselves. They require necessary and sufficient nutrients to grow strong, and not all land is suitable for many tree species. So proper selection is the basis for successful reforestation.
Beneath the soil, unimaginable things happen that we barely know nor understand. Forests don’t function in isolation; beneath the ground, an intelligent network is interwoven in connection with each other. Trees, fungi, bacteria, and all beings that are part of the microscopic and macroscopic world are intertwined to give life to the ecosystem, thus hosting more species depending on each other.
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Forests aren’t the only ecosystem we need to save
Forests have been hit hard by global warming, but they are not the only ecosystem crying for help. Coral reefs, underwater kelp forests, wetlands, mountain grasslands, the Antarctic biome, deserts, and all sorts of other systems, are being affected by human selfishness.
There’s no point in betting on the conservation of species if they don’t have a place to live. Therefore, the purpose of ecosystem restoration isn’t at all a bet on an isolated vision. Rather, it’s the processes as a whole that will make possible the recovery of nature, to the point of hopefully reaching balance again.
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Let’s go back to the forest example; it has been proven that it’s better to follow the path of slowing logging to primary forests rather than just planting indiscriminately. Primary forests are the habitat of the oldest trees whose trunks are measured in meters rather than centimeters. They’re primary carbon sequestrators for the planet, and their destruction also endangers more species.
In the case of coral reefs, their loss would be catastrophic, mainly because they’re actually a living ecosystem. In other words, corals serve as home to hundreds of species that depend on them, but unlike trees, corals are considered animals. Unfortunately, coral conservation won’t be possible unless ocean temperatures remain stable. In these cases, ecosystem restoration depends directly on other actions to slow the loss of species and help them continue to populate the planet.
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Simply put, ecosystem restoration depends on several factors that must be taken into account before taking random actions. The history of the ecosystem, the characteristics of the territory, the social elements, and the natural dynamics within them, are some of the factors to be taken into account when setting restoration goals.
This year’s World Environment Day seeks to raise awareness of all these crucial points to restore the health of our ecosystems. Only in this way, more and more people will be able to join the cause, which is key for the survival and global health of the planet. Each one of us, from our trenches, can join in from different verticals to help our precious planet Earth.
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